


Dragon Bond

by MLGroves



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-04
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-22 10:33:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/912169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MLGroves/pseuds/MLGroves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The bond was formed to save a Kingdom before it ever formed a nation. Now, the bond is waning and the Dragon's grow restless. One Princess has the key to save it, but how can she reform the bond that protects her people when she's not aware of its existence?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon a Tim

 

 

_Once upon a time unknown and lost to legend…_

It had all started with a great wind: a terrible howling of force that sent many armored men off their horses. It shrieked and the animals quaked in fear or fled, despite their rider's attempts to calm them. Many of the men wished to run as well, but held fast to their courage and steeled themselves against the heavy blows. Then it was followed by a thunderous roaring, much louder than the wind and the very air around them steamed with a sudden heat. Even more ran, all save a few.

A tall man, thick and burly, stood out amongst the rest. He road no horse- it had ran long ago- but still he commanded a presence that those who stayed willfully followed. Despite the dangerous ground he walked on, an aura of authority surrounded him and determination sparked in his golden brown eyes. This wind and heat could not move him, he would not allow it. He was a King, and he would not fail.

"My Lord!" Against the buffeting wind, one of his followers yelled, forcibly holding himself upright. "My Lord, they know we are here. We should fall back and reform our strategy! Please, my Lord!"

He was met with silence as the large man continued his trek and feared that the King they would give their lives for was about to give them that chance to do so. He tried to yell again, but his King paid him no mind. Only when he finally gave up and motioned for those remaining to follow, did his majesty respond.

"You lot," He commanded, voice strong and dead set, "stay back. This is now my journey to take and mine alone. Wait for me."

"My Lord?"

"No, let us come with you!"

"They'll surely kill you!"

Many protested, he did not listen, but they stood still- too loyal to disobey.

The wind's howl grew in strength and the King continued on. With each step he shed his armor, now too hot to handle it. The roaring in his ears increased the further he went up the mountain path, but still he walked on. The King did not falter or allow even a shadow of doubt to cross his face. He was here for a matter of life and death. He would not hesitate. He could not. Nothing could stop him.

As he finally reached the point where plants even refused to grow, he stopped his march and looked upon the cliff face that trembled in anger. He felt the heat, the wind and even his bones knew of the tremor that roared around him. It was a wild storm of threats and anger. He had reached the distance when the rattlesnake was more than ready to strike. Instead of feeling threatened, he grasped the warm circlet on his brow and cast it to the ground. With a deep breath, he allowed his own shout to join the crescendo that surrounded him.

"I am Jude Heartfilia, the First! I am King of the Fiore people, but now I cast off my crown and come as just a man. Please, hear me and let us speak!" His claim resembled that of a roar, but it was swallowed up by the one that covered the mountain.

To a man who knew nothing, it would look as if the King shouted to nothing. He would look as if he raved madly and had been turned insane by the sheer force of will the summit possessed. Instead, the roaring silenced to a low growl, the heat simmered and even the wind stopped its furious breathing. The King did not relax and looked upon the rocky crevices; he waited as silence overtook everything. It was a foreboding silence that pressed down on all sides until it felt just as crushing as the previous wind.

Then there was movement, slight and hardly seen, but it shook the ground and the King knew: something almost as large as the mountain itself was near and it watched him.

"What would you have us speak of, Jude, son of the Fiore man?" The voice trembled like a great calamity and almost brought him to his knees.

"What is important enough that we might care to listen?" The next was a soft caress, full of mockery.

"Why not just eat you?" The third made his bones grate and creak.

The voices were growls that scratched his mind and soon he did succumb, falling to his knees in awe. They were both beautiful and terrifying to hear and he knew that this could very well become his grave. The human King closed his eyes, for just a moment, and allowed the will that comes to a man responsible for many to spring forth from his being. If this was to be his final moments, then he would go down strong, not as a coward- not as a weakling.

"We have trespassed into your domain," He answered, but was clearly unrepentant. "But I have come to request permission. To ask for an alliance. I wish to initiate the Dragon Bond! So that my people will know peace and will never have to fear the loss of a home once again!"

He felt more than heard the growls that issued forth and the whispers in the air that cut his mind as if the land itself deliberated his fate. It felt as if all eternity happened in those scant moments, but in no time at all, the King had his answer.

"The Dragon Bond cannot be taken lightly."

"What have you to offer us?"

"We will see if it is worth our time, human."

King Jude, the first King of Fiore, held back a smile as hope ignited inside of him. He had a chance and he would take it. His people will have their new home and they would be safe! The Dragons, Lords of this land, would make sure of it!

_To be continued…_


	2. Year X769

" _To make a Bond with a Dragon, one must be willing to uphold the promise made and be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. To do less, is sacrilege "_

* * *

_**Year: X769** _

Lucy Heartfilia was unaware of the birds that scattered when she dashed through the garden, tiny feet pattering against the cobblestone path with every step she took. She didn't notice her hair had fallen from its bun or that her silk slippers were becoming dirty from dust and dirt. As she took corners around bushes and giant shrubberies, the Princess of Fiore had only one thought in mind worth her attention and that was escape.

She paused for a moment, gasping for air and looked wildly around her. Take the next left turn or should she take the right? Her choice might be the difference between saving herself or being caught, but which would be the correct one? Her face scrunched up in thought as she struggled to decide, but stiffened when behind her echoed the irate shouts of her tutor, who was rounding a rose bush with his face purpling in outrage. Her choice was made instantly as she dove herself under the nearby swan fountain. Its vines draped off its sides to allow trickles of water to spill out in the sunlight and provided the perfect cover.

It was good that she had been dressed in green that day, she could hardly tell where she began or where the plants did with her chosen place and she struggled to control her breathing before her captor came upon her.

She had settled herself none too soon. The pudgy outline of her tutor, whose bald head shined, came upon the juncture she had just stood upon. His clothes were bright colors and looked far too layered for the heat of the day. It made Lucy hot just looking at him. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief from his coat pocket and she held back a giggle when he stared about in desperate abandon.

"Blast! I thought she'd gone this way… "He gasped out, looking down both paths to see if there was any sign of her. She slowly moved further under the brambles that grew around the fountain and covered her mouth. "Oh why did she decide of all days to abandon her studies? The King will tan my hide for sure!"

Taking the right path, he started his labored running once again and began shouting for her loudly. Even more birds flew off then, trilling unhappily as their time in the garden was disturbed. "Princess Lucy! Where are you? Princess Lucy!" His voice drawled out and echoed as he ran farther away.

The princess held her breath and waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps and let out a relieved giggle. Success! Smiling in self-satisfaction, she crawled her way back out. It had been a close one and for a moment she feared she would have been caught. Her own stealth amazed her sometimes! She giggled once more and began walking the paths calmly, skipping every so often and smelling the different flowers every so often. She truly loved being in the garden, but sometimes that old stiff just wouldn't let her out to play in it! It was most unfair!

She didn't usually duck out of studying as she knew it was terribly important to be a well-educated princess, (That and her Father would scold her and she didn't want that.) but it was just so hard to keep focus when the day was so nice! The castle was peaceful during this time of year, spring was slowly melting into summer and her father had gone away to visit some foreign dignitaries. Everyone was more relaxed when he was out and about and Lucy was no exception. So why not take a break from learning? That overly-clothed teacher of hers didn't seem to understand that at all! So it was only naturally that she'd run away for the day.

It also didn't help the issue that today's studies were entirely focused on reading maps and understanding the different locations of the neighboring kingdoms. She was ten years old, how could they expect her to have the attention span for that? No, she'd rather just smell the lilies nearby and let her tutor freak out for the day. What could he truly do to her anyway, punish her? She giggled at the absurdity of it, but frowned at the same time. Only her father could do that.

_'I'm sure Mama would have given me a day off…_ ' She thought glumly for a mere moment, before the sight of a blue-jay caught her attention and she ran off the path once more to follow it. Maybe if she was lucky, she could find its nest…

It was hard to follow a fast- moving bird when you could only run on two legs, but Lucy tried. She crossed path after path, dashed through the bushes and laughed as she went. Ahead, she saw a large white tree and knew she was nearing the center of the garden. Her chest swelled and her laughter rang out. This was her favorite place in the entire courtyard. In her excitement, she sped up and stepped back out onto the path.

"Oh shi-watch out!" A voice shouted loudly in her ear two seconds before she had the wind knocked out of her and was barreled to the ground in a flurry of limbs and pained howls. Her shriek sent the blue-jay flying further away and off in an unknown direction. Lucy would have pouted, but was busy gasping for air as she found herself suddenly crushed to the ground by another body a little larger than hers with spiky hair tickling her nose.

"Ow, th-that hurt!" She cried out, struggling to remove the person from her body who seemed in just as much of a hurry to move as she. Their struggles persisted and she was surprised to notice that it was a boy who had knocked her over.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to run over you, but I didn't expect someone to just appear out of the bushes! Don't you know that's what a path is for?" He spoke fast and the apology was lost amidst his rambling. Rough, raw hands grabbed her own as he pulled her up to her feet, grinning wildly and laughing. "You're kind of weird aren't you?"

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Lucy wasn't sure what the correct protocol was for this situation, but she did know that it wasn't polite to call someone weird after knocking them to the ground. With a sniff, she opened her mouth to say as much, but was surprised when she got a good look at her assailant. Was that pink hair? Her jaw drew slack –a most unseemly sight for a princess- and she blinked dumbly. He was still grinning and sharp little points for teeth were revealed to her. This… boy called her weird?

He suddenly frowned and tilted his head at her curious. "Hey, I didn't knock your head silly did I? Don't you know how to talk? You really are strange…"

That knocked her from her stupor and she stamped her foot in consternation, "Stop being rude! I'm not weird I'm the princ-" His face changed to a look of terror as he interrupted her with his hand clamped over her mouth. She mentally sputtered. Did this boy ever hold still?

"Shh! I think she's coming…" He hissed out, glancing behind him in concern. She raised an eyebrow, who was she? Actually, who was he for that matter? She didn't recognize him and he was dressed too poorly to be a royal… In fact his entire state of dress would have made her think him straight off the streets. His leather jerkin was dusty and battered and he looked as if he'd just been in a fight too. Should she be worried? Lucy considered kicking him and running off, but her curiosity glued her in place.

His hand was still on her mouth and she was just about to bite it in annoyance when shouts echoed into the air. Her and the boy both stiffened.

"Dragneel! I know you ran this way, get your ass back here right now before I get stern!" The voice that yelled was a young woman's and the anger it revealed was enough to make Lucy shiver right along with the boy. He squeaked and looked around for a place to hide. When more voices joined the woman's he seemed to give up and looked at Lucy in fright.

"Crap! I can't get caught with you like this! Come on, before they find us!" Before Lucy could understand what he was talking about, his hand grabbed hers and he was running off down the beaten path, dragging her right behind him.

"H-hey! Let go of me!" She struggled to loosen his grip and nearly tripped over herself and he growled in frustration.

"No time! Just hurry!" He suddenly turned them off the path and took off down a narrow niche between the stone walls and the bushes and soon even Lucy felt they were lost. Just what in the world was going on? This was not what she had imagined when she decided to take a day off for herself!

His name was Natsu Dragneel and he was only two years older than her. After his refusal to release her, Lucy's curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had followed behind him willingly. He had been quick on his feet and seemed to know all the little alcoves to hide in. She hadn't even been aware of half of them, but when they had found a good spot near the entrance to the servants quarters, Lucy had finally caught a glimpse of who had been chasing them.

She had recognized the redheaded woman instantly as the newest and younger trainer for the captain's guards. The boy had twitched just at the sight of her and she found she couldn't blame him. She had heard the stories of how this girl had risen in the ranks so quickly and knew her to be a fearsome woman, but why had he been running in the first place?

When she asked him, he blinked at her for a few moments and stared as if he had forgotten she knew how to talk Judging from the amount she had been able to say so far, Lucy guessed that might not have been far from the truth. After the stare he gave her grew more intense by the second and she was just about ready to snap, he grinned wildly, puffed out his chest and answered.

"It's because I was supposed to spar with her today, that's why!" He stated proudly and it was Lucy's turn to stare.

"You…spar with her?" She said incredulously, but he was so young…

"Yup!" He cracked his knuckles, "I'm training to be a knight and today was my day to train with Erza! I was all fired up and everything this morning! She's a monster!"

Lucy wasn't sure that calling someone a monster and grinning about it was normal, but she was far too busy processing the information he just gave her to call it out. He certainly didn't look like a knight in training. He wasn't even dressed like a squire, but his excitement was rather refreshing and she couldn't help, but smile in return. It was rather interesting actually-

-wait, "If you were so happy to spar with her then why were you running away?"

He frowned again and the fear gleamed back in his eyes. Lucy was still having a hard time getting used to his mood changes, he seemed to flit back and forth from one emotion to the other so fast that she was having difficulty keeping up.

"I was running because she was angry at me." He stated simply, glancing around as if he thought she could hear him. "I stuck a centipede in her armor and she couldn't wait to get her hands on me. I can take her just fine on a normal day, but not when she's angry! You do NOT want to fight Erza when she's angry!" The intensity in his eyes as he said this to her made her nod her head and gulp though it wasn't as if she'd ever be in such a situation.

"…. You kind of deserve being beat by her then." She responded, thinking about how she would react to a bug being put in her clothes. She grimaced at the thought and had various visions in her head of punching him herself. (This was a thought she had to carefully ignore. Princesses are not supposed to be violent.)

"Maybe, but hearing her shriek was the greatest! She never does that!" He started laughing loudly again, rather proud of himself and Lucy couldn't help it when she realized she liked his laugh: Just a little. He was interesting; Far more interesting than studying those maps.

"Oh!" She let out a gasp and frowned, "I haven't introduced myself!" How could she have forgotten to finish giving her name? He obviously didn't know who she was, which was weird, but how could she have let him tell her his name without returning the favor? He didn't seem too concerned and shrugged. This Natsu was really something else.

"You don't have to." He said plainly and she pouted. Did he not want to be her friend? That was just mean, but she realized, what if he treated her differently once he realized who she was? Would he apologize profusely and run off from her as well? She shook her head and willed herself to think differently.

Standing up, she curtsied to him, as was only proper and smiled brightly at him. "I do have to, it's only polite!" He tried to say something, but she waved her hand and interrupted him. "Do not interrupt! You gave me your name, it is only fair! Natsu Dragneel, I am Lucy Heartfilia, the Princess of Fiore." She was surprised to feel her heart pounding, worried towards his reaction.

She didn't expect him to break out into his rather large grin again as he chuckled at her and shook his head. "You really are a weirdo. You didn't have to tell me because I knew already! I'm training to be a knight, it would be rather stupid of me to not know you were the princess!"

Wait what? He knew? She flushed and looked down at her feet, not sure what to say, but he didn't seem to realize her awkwardness and placed a hand on her head.

"Also, I have to know who you are," He added, voice full of pride, "I'm being trained to be YOUR guard after all." Her head flung back up and she gasped.

What did she need a guard for? Didn't they have a Royal Guard for that? Lucy couldn't find her words as the boy continued laughing at her.

"Stop laughing at me!" She managed to shout out, but his laughter only grew.

She didn't know it, but this was the start of her very first friendship.

" _To break a bond made between Dragons is to call upon the wrath of hell."_


	3. Eight Years Later

"I was surprised to see Warren outside my door when I woke up. Do you have any idea why, Natsu?" Her foot tapped on the floor in a rhythm that hid nothing: she was agitated. Even the delicate tapping caused by her slippers did nothing to ease the tension in the air as she waited for an answer.

"It must be because you're weird." He answered nonchalantly as he balanced himself on two legs of a chair stationed by her desk. Natsu grinned widely and continued, "Only you would be surprised at a guard for guarding your door, Luce." The fury that lit in her brown eyes at that very moment made his grin grow to a full blown smile. The Princess was so funny when she was angry. With a huff, she crossed her arms and inelegantly blew hair out of her face. The glare she gave him was supposed to be threatening, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel even remotely in danger.

"No, I would be surprised because my own _bodyguard_ wasn't there like he was supposed to be- and don't call me weird!" She hissed venomously and the foot tap became a light stomp as she approached him, her night gown shifted with her movements and briefly reminded him that she wasn't normally dressed in her bedclothes by the time he was allowed into her room.

"Hey, why aren't you dressed yet?" He found himself asking, suddenly puzzled.

If possible, the Princess of Fiore became even angrier, "Because I'm admonishing you, moron!" She snapped back, "now tell me, where were you?"

Well, that was an easy answer, "Fairy Tail."

She froze at that and a jealous glint appeared in her eye before she seethed out, "So you went to he only mage-friendly bar in town instead of guarding me. You know, the one you were trained to watch over since childhood?"

"That's why Warren was there, to make sure you weren't unguarded. You're a little slow today aren't you?" The thin fingers that gripped his shoulders and the murderous rage that darkened her face suddenly made him realize his error and he gulped. "H-hey! Even I'm allowed a free night every now and then!"

Her fingers slid off him and she sighed in irritation. "Shut up. Just shut up! I'm stuck here constantly and Father won't let me out without a ten-guard escort, much less to a mage-friendly bar and you just go there whenever. How am I supposed to feel about that?" She stepped back slightly and rubbed her eyebrows. "Honestly Natsu, can't you at least show up in the morning on time?"

He would have argued, or at the very least, he would have answered her, but the girl he had befriended when he was still in training had found a new way to distract his thought process. Sitting forward, he cocked his head at her and his wide grin sprouted once more. "Don't be like that Luce, they would love you since you're a mage too!" If he had been hoping to cheer her up, his words had the opposite effect on her. In seconds she had tackled him to the very chair he balanced on, effectively knocking them both over, and had covered his mouth with her hand to silence him.

"Idiot!" She hissed quietly, "don't go around saying that out loud! Father's guards might hear you!" His eyes widened at her words and he promptly shook his head as a muffled 'sorry!' erupted through her fingers. Lucy let out a relieved sigh and relaxed lightly, "Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you got as far as you did in the guard with an absent-mind like that."

When she released him from her fingers, he smirked and replied, "I got this far because I kick ass at fighting, you weirdo."

Lucy shook her head in exasperation and finally let out a small laugh. He continued to smile at her. He liked it when they were like this. Not as a princess and her bodyguard, but just two friends enjoying each other's company. He wondered why she couldn't be this relaxed all the time? Natsu thought about asking her, but found himself laughing right along with her instead. So what if he accidently blabbed that she was a mage out loud. Her father may not have known that she studied in secret, but he knew that no one else heard him. Sometimes she was just too paranoid.

Their laughter was cut short by the large chamber doors opening and a petite girl dressed in a nice, but plain gown stepped in. She blinked dumbly at the sight of the two of them on the floor- limbs akimbo and shut the door just as quickly as she opened it. With a hand on her hip and the other at her mouth, she giggled lightly despite the beginning flush on her cheeks and appraised the two of them.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something, your highness?"

Natsu sat them both up quickly, smile never leaving his face. He barely even registered when Lucy bounced off his lap, straightened her chemise and immediately began uttering denials as fast as her lips could move. "No! You're not interrupting anything at all! Come in, I've been waiting for you!" She seemed to continue muttering under her breath at this point as she stalked towards her vanity, hair covering her now bright red face.

He figured now was as good a time as any to greet Lucy's handmaiden. "Hiya, Lisanna! Are you going to be at the bar tonight?" He didn't notice the angry stare that suddenly came from behind a curtain of blonde hair.

With a soft smile, she nodded her head and laughed at him, "Of course, silly. It is my evening off after all." With an excited grin, the body guard uprighted the chair and promptly began balancing on it again, but she paid him no mind. She was now looking towards Lucy with a sudden expression of business. "Lucy, you're going to have to dress extra nice today. Your father wants to see you as soon as possible. He said he has something really important to tell you. "

Lucy's shoulders stiffened and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "There aren't any celebrations coming up, what could he possibly want?" Lisanna did not seem surprised by the monotone calm that came from her question.

"I really don't know, but he insisted that I help you quickly." The air in the room seemed to drop in temperature as Lucy straightened her back and nodded. She never did like having _'discussions'_ with her father, the King of Fiore, and Lisanna knew this. There had been many times when she found the princess in tears at her desk and she had done her best to calm her. Both girls gave looks of understanding to one another that spoke far more volumes than actual words and quickly turned their eyes on Natsu when the chair creaked from his abuse.

"Well, if he wants me there soon, we best get started then." Lucy said gravelly, eyeing her bodyguard with a tense gaze.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly." Lisanna agreed, training her eyes upon the pink-haired man as well. She couldn't help the small smile that came loose at the sight of him balancing precariously, completely unaware of their conversation.

It took him a few seconds to realize he was the center of attention again and he abruptly stopped rocking the chair to question them. "Huh, what are you looking at me for?"

"Natsu, the Lady Lucy is in need of getting dressed." Lisanna said softly, an amused smile dancing along her lips. "That can only mean one thing."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

It was Lucy who answered this time, with a point to her door she ordered, "Natsu, get out, now!" The man let out a surprised yelp when both females advanced upon him, grabbed his shoulders and forced him out the chamber doors. In seconds, the hall greeted him and the door slammed shut behind him.

With that, the body guard of Princess Lucy, was efficiently kicked out and forced to wait.

An hour later, Princess Lucy was heralded by guards and servants as she walked the halls of Magnolia Castle. Many bowed their heads and gave their respect and others complimented the soft pink gown she had been forced into not thirty minutes before. The corset hugged her curves and the skirts draped along her legs elegantly as she walked past. With each greeting and compliment, the Princess smiled a light, fond smile, and graciously thanked them as she walked by. Her back held straight and not a hair stood out of place. Compared to the girl in her bedclothes this morning, she was a completely different person.

Alongside her, walked Ser Dragneel, body guard and knight to Princess Lucy. He stood a head taller than her and despite his tries to keep his back straight; he still looked more like a predator stalking the halls in comparison to the princess. His eyes were alert and darted to every corner as he escorted his charge and his every step oozed strength. However, from time to time, the ferocity of his gaze would dim as he would pass by a guard he knew and he'd smile with a wave or they would turn around a corner and he'd slump his shoulders, tired of the constant need to stand up straight. Each time he did this, he was subtly elbowed into fixing his posture, but he never stayed that way for long.

Each time a blow met his ribcage, he'd grunt and mutter under his breath, "Luce, it's not like we're going anywhere formal!"

Her response was always the same, "Right now, it's 'Your Highness' or 'Princess,' Ser Dragneel. Please remember that."

He followed that with a snort and continued on down the stone halls that were alit in torches that never went out and was covered in portraits of dragons and men in shining mail upon terrified horses. She was always like this when others could see her and these were the times he wished they could go back to her room. He hated having to be so serious and he hated the tightness he saw in her shoulders too. It just took the fun out of everything. Even the gloriously decorated walls seemed gloomy.

They continued down the path, with Lucy's obvious anxiety making it hard for Natsu to swallow. Every time he walked her the distance to her father's study was an equivalent to forgetting how to breathe. She never liked going to see him; he knew this and the walk down the many halls only made it worse with every step they took. By the time they reached the oaken doors, decorated in mighty dragons with swooping talons towards the doorknobs, he swore he could taste her apprehension. For Princess Lucy, speaking with her Father, Jude Heartfilia the 8th, was akin to eating nails and walking on hot coals, and he mentally winced as the doors opened to let them in. A big part of his mind screamed to turn around, grab his charge and move to somewhere more comforting to the both of them, but instead, he followed behind her as she stepped across the threshold and into the King's study.

The study was not as heavily decorated as the halls and seemed quaint considering who it belonged to. Everything was in its place, with books aligning the walls and desks were covered in maps and treaties that Lucy recalled having to read over so many times that she lost count through the years. In the middle of it all, with light shining down from the large windows behind him, sat her father. His presence alone demanded respect and her back straightened at the sight of him. To look upon him, one would think he had a board tied to his back.

Beside him was his Chancellor, Artor- though no one called him by name, and they were speaking in hushes voices. Lucy felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. Nothing ever good came from her father speaking with the chancellor before conversing with her. It usually involved a new study regime or worse- a critique on her etiquette. According to the bald-headed man that deigned himself her teacher, she was never quite elegant enough for a princess and he often complained about it. She stepped further into the room, not making a sound and patiently waited. She knew better than to interrupt them.

She didn't have to. With one step onto the plush fabric of the rug, her Father's eyes met hers and hardened into something close to resignation. "Lucy," He drawled in a voice that broke no room to answer in return, "so you finally decided to arrive, have you?" She felt herself stiffen at the look of disapproval he gave her and she lightly bit the inside of her lip. His voice was too accusing as if he thought she meant to take as long as she did. Behind her, she felt Natsu tense up and was glad when he managed to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes Father." She answered as calmly as she could muster. "I came as soon as Lisanna had me dressed."

"Learn to dress quicker." He snapped back before his eyes slid to his Chancellor. "Leave us. I'll summon you if I have any need." The man blinked in surprise before he bowed smoothly and turned to leave in a swath of robes and silks that made Lucy hot just looking at him. She still never quite understood how that man walked in all those layers.

She was brought out of her brief reverie by the voice of her father snapping once more. "You too, Dragneel. She has no need of you here." With a start, she realized her own bodyguard was being dismissed and she fought the urge to turn and see his face. He never did like it when he was ordered away and she quietly prayed that he wouldn't say anything. Natsu had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, even towards the very man that could have him fired on the spot.

Lucy was surprised when she didn't even hear a grunt of acknowledgment, but instead the heavy footsteps of her guard as he swiftly turned and left the room, not even bothering to check the door before it slammed shut. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and kept her gaze trained on her fathers. His glared at the door behind her for merely a moment before they slid back on hers.

"Sometimes I forget how rude your guard is." He muttered in annoyance as he straightened papers on his desk. "No matter, I don't pay him to be smart or proper. Come closer Lucy, I have matters to discuss with you."

Immediately, she bowed her head and stepped forward until she was five paces away from where he sat. She knew better than to move directly in front of him or to even touch the table he worked on. She had learned long ago that there was a certain amount of distance he liked her to keep and she wasn't about to break it now. "Has something happened?" She asked lightly.

"Not yet." He responded as he assessed the gown she wore, "but I will have to order one of the servants to get you some new formal ball gowns."

Lucy wasn't fast enough to hide her surprise as she asked softly, "Ball gowns? I thought our next celebration was not until fall…"

"You thought wrong." His voice cut over hers like a knife and she fell silent. "We are having some changes made within the next few months and you will have to act accordingly for them. I've already had it arranged that our neighboring Kingdoms will visit in the coming months. We will be visited by Crocus, Providence, Bosco and the Principality of Hakobe. They will be here for dances, hunting parties, and we will be discussing our border disputes. Do you understand Lucy?"

Ah, so they were inviting others to their castle? That was odd. "I am surprised. We are the strongest Kingdom, what need do we have to discuss border desputes? Surely we're not being threatened." To her, this was a valid question. Fiore was known as the strongest Kingdom in the Northern lands, no one dared to bother them.

"A ridiculous statement: Of course we're not." He agreed tersely, "They're vying for your hand."

She froze and the drop in her stomach returned full force, "…. I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you?" She couldn't have heard him right.

"Your hearing is just fine Lucy. You're going to be meeting suitors during these events and I want you prepared to look your best. Do I make myself clear?" He narrowed his brown eyes and it felt as it weights were being dropped upon her shoulders.

"-but Father I-!"

"Lucy!"

She inwardly slumped. "… yes Father. I understand." Her eyes were suddenly burning and she bowed her head to hide it. "When are we expecting them?"

Lucy didn't see his hand wave, but his voice was dismissive that she could picture it. "Three months. You may go now. We will discuss more on a later date. I have to prepare for court."

Muttering a swift good-bye as she curtsied, Lucy tried her best to walk gracefully out the doors, even as she rushed to get through them.

She wasn't surprised when Natsu took step beside her as soon as she had stepped into the hallway. Her pace was fast and her steps echoed along the walls as she quickly ushered herself to one of the more evacuated hallways. He knew where she was going and stayed silent. Once they had reached the wing nearest the library, her steps finally slowed down and she allowed herself to slump, hair sliding through its bun and shoulders sagging. He took his queue and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Well," He said in amusement, "you were always telling me how you couldn't wait to meet your Prince Charming, right?" The surprised stare she gave him was enough to bring out his wide grin. "Why do you look surprised? You should already know that I could hear that entire conversation."

She blinked at him for a moment, slightly grinning in spite of herself and shook her head. "This is not the way I imagined meeting my _prince charming_ , Natsu, and I'm amazed you even remembered that." He sputtered for a moment, insulted, but she placed her hands on her hips and continued, "Why is your hearing so good, anyway? I never understood that."

"Luce, I've told you before! Is your memory that terrible?" He placed his arms behind his head and stepped ahead of her to the library entrance, ready to push open the doors at any time.

"Humor me."

The rolled his eyes before his chest puffed out and he stated proudly, "It's because of my magic! I'm a fire mage, remember?" The look of pure disbelief she gave him almost made his ego deflate, but he pushed on with an even larger grin. "Come on, you can't just not believe me."

Lucy shook her head and finally stepped up to the doors herself, "Yes I can, because that makes no sense. Fire magic has nothing to do with your hearing." He grumbled his denial and glanced to the side almost sheepishly and her eyes narrowed. "You're not just saying that to me are you? Why do you really have such bionic hearing?"

He was quiet for a moment, eyes off to the side and clearly pouting before he muttered lowly, "I wonder…." She never did find out the rest of his sentence though as he turned to face her with a stern glare and grabbed her shoulders. Natsu held her place as he stared hard for a few moments and she felt her insides start to squirm. Just what was he doing?

"Err Natsu, can you let go of-"

He interrupted her, "Warren's going to be guarding your room again tonight." Her insides turned to cold, hard fury and the lighthearted mood they had created was suddenly ruined. With a growl of agitation, Lucy swung his arms off her shoulders and poked him hard in the chest.

"You are SUCH a shoddy guard! You're going back to that bar again, aren't you? Don't you have an OUNCE of responsibility in that body of yours?!" She was ready to prod him harder, but he merely kept on grinning and started chuckling. "Stop laughing! It's not fair! I should forbid you to go!"

His voice was so certain that she felt her ire simmer, "You'd never do that to me Luce." She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't deny his statement. Natsu grabbed his chin and looked thoughtful for a few moments, clearly amused and she had to fight the urge to growl at him again. There might have been no one by the Library at this time of day, but she was still a princess and out in the open, she really needed to watch how she acted more… His intense gaze was back on hers, thoughtful again and she lost track of her thought process, "Hey Luce…"

"What?" Why was he looking at her like that again? It was a little unnerving…

"Do you remember what to do if you ever need me right? You know, when I'm too far away to hear you?" She stared at him, dumbfounded, where had that come from? It was an out of the blue question, but the glint in his eyes showed her that he was serious. Lucy always found his serious side almost as hard to handle as his more boisterous one and nodded her head.

"What do you mean too far to hear me?" She grinned, teasing him even as her hand reached for the pendant around her neck. It was a small little crystal wrapped in wire, infused of magic that would immediately inform him of her location if she ever broke it. Though she knew he must have been talking about that, she instead said, "If I ever need you, I just have to scream like a banshee and no matter where you are, you'll come running. That bionic hearing of yours isn't there for nothing, you know." It was his turn to blink then and she couldn't hold back the giggle or the grin that escaped.

He laughed with her then, and shook his head. "Luce, I thought you were smart, you know that's not what I meant…. Though my hearing is pretty amazing, it could possibly work…" She laughed again as he side-tracked himself. He shook his head and placed a calloused hand atop her head. "That doesn't matter though! What I'm trying to tell you is that it doesn't matter where I go. I'll always be able to find you."

His hand swung the doors open then as he ushered her inside the library, knowing full-well that she planned to read there to soothe her nerves from her earlier conversation with the King. He left her no time to respond to his promise as he saluted her and said, "I'll see you later, Luce!" Then he took off, down the hall towards the barracks, intent to have a few sparring matches with his fellow soldiers.

Lucy watched his back as he walked away, slightly red-faced with her heart pounding in her ears. Was it just her, or did those words for some reason seem more like a threat? Setting that aside, she turned away and made her way to her favorite sitting chair. A pile of books would already be there just waiting to be read and she couldn't wait to devour them.

It was later that night when all the torches had dimmed themselves and the hustle and bustle of the day had turned to mere echoes on the wall that Warren found himself leaning against the wall just outside Princess Lucy's bedchamber. It wasn't the first night he was asked to do this and nor was it the last, but he still found it to be a rather boring job. He was a member of the Mage Corpse, the elite knights of the Kingdom and standing around to make sure no one tried to pry the Princess' door open was probably one of the most boring jobs he could think of. Once upon a time, he could have used his magic to read her mind, possibly to entertain himself, but even that source of amusement had been taken from him when Natsu had threatened to singe his ears off. What kind of person threatens to singe someone's ears off anyway? That boy was clearly insane.

He sighed and glanced down the hallway, almost hoping to find something on its way. Maybe he should have Natsu ask someone else to guard the next time he felt like taking a night trip somewhere. Like most mages in Fiore, even he liked to go to the mage-friendly bar every once and awhile and it was startling to realize that the bodyguard was able to go there far more often than he. Maybe he could talk to Erza about it and set up a schedule. Warren grunted in exasperation and began to whistle.

"You're a pretty crappy guard, you know that?" The sudden voice by his ear caused the telepathic mage to almost shriek as he jumped in surprise. He managed to save himself from destroying his pride and gaped in astonishment as the very bodyguard he was thinking about crossed his arms and smiled menacingly. "You're supposed to catch people when they're coming, not get scared by them Warren!"

"Natsu?! What are you doing here?" A better question was, What am I doing here? Warren thought to himself as the fire mage laughed at his expense. "I thought we agreed I was guarding you tonight with you paying my tab off again, are you backing out?"

"No," the answer was swift, but only managed to confuse him more, "you're still guarding tonight, I just need to pick Lucy up."

Wait, what? His shoulders stiffened and he tried to process what he just heard. He'd never came and picked Lucy up before… it was night for crying out loud, the girl was probably already asleep! "She's sleeping Natsu, what would you possibly need to pick her up for?"

The pink-haired guard moved to his side and grabbed the doorknob, Warren fought back the urge to stop him, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to, but was surprised by the intense stare the mage gave the handle. Just what was going through that boy's mind? He considered trying to delve into it just then to find out.

"She's awake." Natsu interrupted his considerations with such assurance in his voice that Warren couldn't find it in himself to disbelieve him. "She's humming actually, probably being weird and brushing her hair or something." He really did have an amazing sense of hearing if he could catch that. "Anyway, keep guarding the doors alright? I'll bring her back later."

Before he could walk himself in, Warren sputtered and grabbed his arm, "Just what are you going to do?!" Strange, did he catch a scent of sulfur coming off his body? Just where had he been until now? Natsu slid his gaze over towards Warren's and gave him a reassuring grin.

"Don't worry. I planned this earlier today and would have just hopped in through her window, but wanted to make sure you didn't freak out." He turned the latch and said mischievously, "I'm just bringing her to Fairy Tail." Warren wasn't sure if he was truly better off knowing these plans or not, but found himself relaxing all the same. That couldn't be too bad, right? He was used to Natsu pulling stunts like this; surely he would be smart enough to not cause too much trouble, right?

Then he remembered just how rambunctious and gossip mongering that bar could get and he found himself shouting worriedly, "Wait, Natsu, that's not a good idea, what if the King found out?" He never received an answer, as the fire mage had already disappeared into her room with a well-placed click of the door shutting in Warren's face. He had a bad feeling about this…


	4. Just a Bunch of Mages

Magnolia was the heart of the Fiore Kingdom: a City covered in trees that changed to multiple colors once a year. It was nestled into the side of the largest Mountain Range in the Middle Kingdoms and its high walls boasted defense. This city had only one entrance and one exit and it sat upon the main road of the city. It lead outward, through a dense forest of trees so dark and green that many would be lost if they walked off the path, but once a traveler broke away from the foliage, the kingdom's land was rich of rolling hills, farmland and wildflowers. Once, long ago, the land was fought over and war raged across it for ownership, but the damages once done to the land were long gone and the kingdom flourished as the most uncontested for centuries. Many believed the strength of the Kingdom came from the King's highest form of Knights, the Mage Corpse.

It was not far from the truth, the mage corpse made up most of the Elite guard and army to the king and though magic was everywhere in this world, Fiore's men always seemed to carry the most potently destructive magic many had ever seen. For this, mages were widely respected.

Well, once were.

It had come with a price, but with the rise of King Jude the 8th, mages were now carefully watched. Those born with magic in their blood were taken and trained in the mage barracks and were forever the King's dogs and other forms of magic was highly regulated on the streets. It was a high price to keep Magnolia from being destroyed from within by such destructive mages and in time, even the townsfolk worried that a mage unmonitored could damage many a home.

And then there was Fairy Tail- the last remaining Tavern that bore the emblem of Magnolia and opened its doors to all mages at the same time. It was loud, always busy and well-known for its constant need of being repaired.

Lucy couldn't believe she was currently sitting at its counter as if she wasn't the daughter of the King and wasn't a complete stranger. Though not the correct word, since she had a brief idea of most of the mages in the city since they all worked for her family, but the atmosphere was different. She may as well have thought half the laughing drunks to be completely different people from the ones she watched training on the grounds from her library window.

With a self-conscious sigh, she appraised herself and frowned. She also couldn't believe she had been whisked away from her bedroom while in her house dress. It was so close to being her pajamas that she may as well have had bedhead. How Natsu had managed to get her out in the general public while dressed so improperly was a true mystery in and of itself, though she had a pretty good idea how her fool of a bodyguard had tricked her.

Yes: tricked her. She mentally seethed at the mass of pink hair across the room as the aforementioned guard sat at a table with a group of mages she barely recognized and laughed boisterously. He had most definitely tricked her, and was that man he just started yelling at Gray Fullbuster of the WatchGuard? Staring in amazement at her body guard and a member of the watch start to fight right in the middle of the room, Lucy wasn't entirely sure why no one else seemed as appalled by the display. How had he tricked her again?

She could practically play it through her head like a well-practiced script. The man had strolled into her room as if it were nothing and she could just hear Warren's cry of distress be cut short by her door slamming shut. Of course she had been confused, why was he here in the middle of night? In fact, why had he come after explicitly telling her he'd be gone for the night? In consternation, she had begun to order him to leave- a Princess cannot have a man in her room at night after all- and was close to violently tossing a chair at him when he had smiled brightly and said the one thing that made her freeze.

"What? I thought you wanted to come to Fairy Tail. Was I wrong?"

It was easy as brandishing a candy in front of a child's face at that point. Before she could even think of the consequences or convince herself not to, she was already on the streets with her body guard, shivering from a nervous thrill that tingled up her spine.

"What? O-of course I want to go!"

"Then come with me!"

From that point on it had been a careful display of climbing from her balcony and down the trellis, following ledges and other alcoves that Lucy was used to Natsu magically knowing about. Half the time, she wondered if he was more animal than mage, but had been too excited to even question him then either, or yell at him for carrying her out of her room in such a fashion. It was a definite trick and she wasn't sure if she should interrupt his current battle with a well-aimed glass thrown at his face or just groan and slam her head against the counter.

She chose the latter and deeply wished that none of these mages passed the word to her father that she had been inside the one thing in Magnolia that he wished to be rid of.

"Oh my, are you feeling well, dear?"

With a jolt, Lucy lifted her head and met the eyes of the bartender, a tall, elegant woman with white hair that cascaded down her shoulders. For a brief moment, she almost thought it was her handmaiden, Lisanna, that greeted her, but she stopped herself before she made the mistake of saying it out loud. This woman was clearly older, though the resemblance was striking. It took her a few moments of surprise to realize she was gawking and a red hue graced her face: now she was just being rude.

"Oh er, yes, I'm fine!" She said with a little too much enthusiasm and briefly wondered where her sense of propriety went to: That form of response was anything, but intelligent. "I'm just a little overwhelmed is all."

The concerned smile the woman gave her turned to a soft one that filled Lucy with friendly warmth. "I see, that normally happens to those who first come here, but don't worry, you get used to it."

A crash behind Lucy told her that whatever fight her bodyguard had started had just reached the point where chairs were being cracked and she winced. "Even that?" She quieried, still shocked that nothing had been done to stop them.

"Oh, that's just them having fun," the woman said airily, clearly not worried. "They have to let out their pent up energy somehow, and most of the time they can't do that while sparring at the castle. Things are too linear there, wouldn't you agree?" When Lucy stuttered out an agreement, still too stunned to know exactly what to say, the woman covered her mouth and gasped, "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't insult you somehow did I?"

"No, why would that insult me?" Lucy asked, confused by the sudden change in conversation. Why would this woman talking about the stuffiness of the castle offend her? Even she knew it could get nerve-wracking to be in a constant state of reserved tact.

"Oh well, since you've lived there all your life, I figured you might not want to hear it insulted... I mean, you are the Princess after all."

If Lucy had been drinking the small drink she had been given earlier, she would have choked on it. "P-princess?! I.. I'm not-" She couldn't finish her sentence before the woman giggled and covered her mouth with a finger.

"Shhh, calm down- of course you're the princess. Natsu has been talking about bringing you here for months and its only naturally we would recognize you. Most of us work there after-all!" Seeing how tense the royal's shoulders had become, she continued in a softer voice. "Don't you worry, none of us are going to tell- we're happy you're here!"

"Y...you are?" To say the least, Lucy was stunned.

The woman smiled and confirmed, "Of course we are. Now, Lucy, you may call me Mirajane. I run Fairy Tail while the tavern master is busy and am more than happy to make you feel at home here!"

Just like that, Lucy's reserve fell and she found herself lost within conversation with the barmaid that passed the time in comfort until she was surprised to find herself in the middle of a group of mages, talking excitedly to her. Apparently, Mirajane had not been lying, having the princess there with them was more than welcomed- in fact, they were excited about it.

"It must be difficult to have a body guard as useless at Natsu." Some told her and it usually ended in the very same body guard butting in to defend himself. Others were interested in the very thing she kept quiet about- her own magic. She couldn't even bring herself to be angry when she heard Natsu had already told them she could cast it.

"It's rare to see Celestial Wizards these days, it's a shame you have to hide it back at the castle," A few of the older mages told her as they walked by to greet her, "but don't you worry about that, you can cast all you want here, and none of us will complain!"

She was much too surprised to tell them that she hadn't even brought her keys- they very things she needed for her magic, but was happy nonetheless by their enthusiasm. She hardly had the time to feel strange by their openness towards her, none called her by her title and all treated her as if they had been friends for years. By the time it was too late to be considered night anymore, Lucy had become so relaxed that she hardly noticed morning would be soon. This must be why Natsu was always late in greeting her in the mornings. With a place as comfortable as this, why would anyone want to leave?

Lucy's eyes were heavy and her head nodded by the time things started to calm down. Mirajane had disappeared by then, somewhere off in the room, cleaning off tables, and a lot of the patrons were passed out in their chairs or mildly chatting. Most of them had left to thier beds. At some point in time, she had noticed Lisanna talking with many of the patrons as well, but the handmaiden had left far earlier than everyone else, with an oversized man who sported the same hair color as her and Mirajane. Lucy considered if maybe they were related somehow, but she was far too enamored by the scent and coolness of the counter to care. It smelled crisp and clean and unlike the alcohol that had been passed around and her mind was having a difficult time processing all the things she had seen that night.

"Oi, Luce, are you doing okay?" She barely heard the voice of Natsu as he came up behind her and mumbled a reply. "I knew you'd have fun here, but you're looking tired..." She tried to face him when he placed a hand on her shoulder, but for some reason the world moved slowly for her and the counter suddenly smelled of grass and prairie winds and his voice as it said her name caressed her like a strong wind. "Lucy? Hey Lucy!"

"Oh, try to be quiet, Natsu, can't you see the poor thing has fallen asleep?"

Natsu blinked and leaned around his charge to see her face, covered in strands of blonde and pressed against flat surface. He let loose a laugh when he heard the deep breathing and intake of air. The Princess of Fiore had, indeed, fallen asleep where she sat, in a bar full of drunken morons. "Guess that means I have to carry her to her room," he opined with a shrug.

With a sudden look of seriousness, he turned to Mirajane and asked quietly, "Is Happy and the others back?"

The barmaid stopped her sweeping and moved to put the broom up behind the counter, "He is, but not the other two. Do you want me to get him? He was so tired when he returned that I didn't have the heart to wake him earlier..."

"Damn, guess that means Gajeel is still busy and Wendy too. Yeah, go ahead and get him, I have to give him something."

"Another message?"

When the fire-mage stayed uncharacteristically silent, she nodded her head and disappeared to the back rooms. Left alone with many loud snores behind him and a sleeping Princess beside him, he quickly moved her to an easier position so he could pick her up and withdrew a paper from his jacket. By the time he had Lucy secured on his back, her face nestled into the crook of his neck, Mirajane returned with a ball of blue fur nestled sleepily in her arms.

She took one look at the Princess sprawled on the Bodyguards back and held back a giggle. "That's cute, Natsu, but you best not drop her."

"Not gonna' happen," He responded, eyes trained on the tuft of blue she carried and hardly noticing her never-ending stare at the blonde currently breathing in his ear. "Hey, wake up buddy." He held Lucy with one arm and prodded the blue fur Mirajane held with the other and grinned when ball of fur stretched and let loose a big yawn. Wiping at bleary eyes, the blue cat Mirajane held slowly sat up and glanced around, his eyes widening upon noticing Natsu.

"Oh, Natsu! You're here!" He said brightly, voice far louder than it should be. Many men snorted in thier sleep and Lucy let loose a moan. Mirajane quickly shushed the cat and he lowered his ears. "But Mira, I haven't seen him in a week!"

Natsu grinned and patted the cat on the head. "I missed you too buddy, but I gotta' go back to the castle. Do you know why Lily and Carla haven't come back yet?"

The cat yawned again, but shook his head, "They had other things to do." He said, but became distracted when he finally noticed the girl Natsu was holding up. "Oh! That's her isn't it? Why didn't you wake me sooner, I wanted to meet her!"

"He didn't know you were here, Happy," Mirajane supplied, but the cat wasn't having it.

"Natsu, you always ask for me first, why are you hogging her all to yourself?"

"I'm not!" The guard spluttered, but the cat continued.

"You're so mean, why couldn't I meet Lucy?"

He shook his head, perplexed and muttered a quiet apology that wasn't as heartfelt as cat would have wanted it, but he accepted it nonetheless when Natsu held out the paper he had grabbed earlier. "Look, you'll meet her next time, little buddy. Right now I need you to get this to pops, got it?"

Understanding dawned in his eyes and the cat quickly hopped to the counter and accepted the paper. "Aye! He was wondering when you'd have something new to tell him, you're so useless sometimes..."

"Hey!"

"Boys," Mirajane stressed, motioning to the girl still sleeping on his back.

"Oh right, sorry." He shifted his weight and placed his free arm back to help support the sleeping girl again and grinned. "Well, think you can get it to him and be back in two days? I swear I'll be here."

"You can count on me, Natsu!" The cat saluted, more than happy to have a job assigned to him.

"Thanks." With a nod of good night to Mirajane, the bodyguard turned and made his way through the rabble to exit the bar, hardly encumbered by the sleeping girl even as she shifted and muttered against him.

Mirajane stopped him before he walked out the door, "You'll bring her back, won't you?" She asked, "The poor thing seemed so happy to be here and I'd love to get to know her better."

He kept his back to her and stayed silent for a few moments. The seconds ticked by and the barmaid pouted right along with the cat. Why must he always get so serious when he sent a message to his father? Before she could voice the complaint, however, he turned his head to look at her with one eye, a wide smile on his face that did nothing to hide the fangs.

"That's the plan!" He smirked before leaving the bar with a kick at the door. It was a few minutes longer before Mirajane decided she had better continue cleaning again and Happy watched her from the counter with a curious expression on his face.

"Do you think he'll tell her?" He asked after a few minutes of silence, getting bored.

She didn't slow in her work, but she did grab a fish from one of her many magically cooled containers and hand it to the cat as she moved by. He happily consumed it in earnest, but kept his eyes focused on her, awaiting her answer.

"Of course not, you know he can't." She answered sadly. Happy nodded and resumed eating the fish he had been given. She was right, and he knew it, but sometimes he wished things were easier. He'd like to be able to see Natsu more often than just twice a week or less after all.

"Maybe she'll find out on her own." He mused, glancing at the paper he would deliver after his breakfast.

Mirajane hummed and shook her head, "I sincerely, hope not. That could end badly."

The cat was far too busy with his meal to respond and the conversation ended with a heavy feeling in the air. Mirajane continued her humming and silently hoped Natsu returned the Princess safely and that King Jude never found out. That could end badly too, after all. She continued her sweeping.


	5. Back Too Soon

It was high noon when Mirajane realized that something was wrong. Like most nights, she had stayed up late to clean the bar and shoo the occupants out by sunup. It wasn't a terrible problem that strikes you suddenly or weighed down on you like an incurable illness. It was something subtle. An inkling of a feeling that gradually grew throughout the day even as the barmaid did her work at the castle when she awoke and left back to the bar hours before it opened to prepare it for another busy night. There were many things for her to look forward to. Especially if a certain body guard returned with his charge, and she wanted everything to be perfect.

 

Yet, she just couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was not right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it made her worry. She hoped the master of the bar would find the time to visit soon. He was usually the one she could bring these concerns to and get an answer. Mirajane had learned years ago that feelings like this were not things to be ignored; that there was always a connection with the world around her -thanks to the magic in her blood- that would always serve as a special warning. It was an innate sense that all mages would have, if they would only learn to listen. She did listen, but understanding was another thing entirely.

 

She had just resolved to not let it ruin her day while heating the ovens in the back when it finally struck her. Quite literally in the stomach with a force that sent all her air escaping and running to the winds. “MIRA!! We have to get NATSU!” A distraught Happy had barreled into her with wings extended and a glow around his body. He was shivering from exertion and tiny paws dug into her dress like a lifeline. The small cat was a sight she had not been ready for.

 

“Happy? What are you doing here?! It's only been a day since you left!” She held the blue ball of fur close as the cat shivered with fever, caused by the amount of flying he had pulled since he left to make it back in the time he had. “Oh, you poor thing, what's happened?”

 

He shivered again and barely made out the words as his wings drooped and eyes glazed over. “I.. have...to tell Natsu that.. that... there's something important I have to tell him!” He wavered for a mere moment and Mirajane immediately set him down on a cushion in the corner of her kitchen, where she often let him sleep after a long flight. 

 

He looked like he needed it. “He may be here tonight,” She consoled and forced the distraught cat to lie down. “Please rest, you're dead on your feet.” He looked close to protesting, but another rack of shivers overtook him and Mirajane sighed heavily when he quickly passed out. She definitely had to wake him up as soon as Natsu arrived, this had to be serious to put the little thing into such a state.

 

As the cat whined in his sleep and Mirajane resumed preparing to open the bar for the night, she silently hoped that whatever had been so urgent wasn't half as serious as Happy made it out to be. They had plenty of things to worry about with out something else bearing down on them. She frowned and made a mental wish that everything would be okay once Natsu arrived that night. If he hadn't such a high position at court with the royal bloodline involved, she may have resolved to contact him that very moment, but that wouldn't be a good idea when he was tasked with keeping his eyes on the princess every hour on the hour. 

 

She briefly wondered if he'd bring Lucy along before the terrible feeling swelled in her stomach to an almost nauseating level. For a brief moment, she wanted the Princess to stay cooped up in her room.

 

-

 

 

It was too lovely a day to stay indoors and luckily for Lucy, the garden was well suited for taking a good book and reading in it. She had finished her morning studies and was given the afternoon off, which was turning out to be a great one. She sat upon a bench with an old book of ancient legends on her lap and wondered how the librarian seemed to know exactly what book she was wanting to read every time she came in. She vowed to ask one day, if the tiny librarian would stay in the vicinity long enough for her to do so. The short woman seemed to always be busy....

 

The sounds of shouting and what suspiciously sounded like an explosion interrupted her thoughts and she glanced up from her bench to the open grounds of the castle yard. She may have been in the courtyard gardens, but it was easy to see the group of mages in the distance sparring with one another. It was their way of practice, to keep their skills sharp in times of peace and Lucy had not witnessed a war within her kingdom her entire life. The sparring almost looked close to playing because of that and she realized the explosion must have come from her very own body guard. He never did know how to be subtle, even when she had watched him sparring at the bar the day before.

 

Her fingers paused on a page and she sighed happily. Being able to finally visit the Fairy Tail bar was more than she could have hoped for and more than she imagined. It had taken her by surprise at first and was difficult to release herself from the shell of acting she usually hid behind, but the liberation of being able to act like a normal person was worth more to her than any fancy dress her father had tailored for her. She no longer wondered why her bodyguard made it a habit to disappear there often and was more than excited at the prospect of returning again.

 

They hadn't last night, to make sure no one noticed or grew suspicious, Natsu had told her. She had argued the point at first, as it wasn't every day that her body guard actually made sense, but at the subtle hint from him that he would bring her there again soon, she had relented. He may not have been the sharpest spear in her fathers army, but he was still someone she could always trust to his word, and this was no exception.

 

She just had to cross her fingers that Warren would agree to watch her empty bedroom again. Hadn't she just two nights ago yelled at Natsu for doing that? What was becoming of her? She giggled lightly with her hand covering her mouth and resumed her perusal of the book. It was an interesting thing, to read up on ancient myths and legends that could neither be proved true or false and she was greatly intrigued by the aspect of dragons. No one had seen them in decades, but it was a well-thought belief that they still flew the skies. She had never seen one, but the book was rekindling a small childish hope that she might one day...

 

A random thought in her head about the summer awaiting her ruining the bubbly sensation in her stomach and she frowned. _Perhaps I can meet a dragon before I get whisked away by suitors..._ she amended in her head with a sigh. Just how was she going to deal with that? She wasn't sure, but the negative thoughts that came with it were quickly dispelled when she focused on the book once more. She didn't want to think about that right now, not when it was such a nice day out.

 

Lucy didn't have a chance to even turn the page in her book when a sudden burst of light and fire exploded next to her in the grass and a wave of heat engulfed her. The book shut from the force, losing her place and the small pile of books she had taken with her fell off the bench and scattered. Before she could regain her bearings, her eyes met with Natsu' back as he was suddenly in front of her, blocking the flash of light and energy that had gone off close to her. Not a second later, it disappeared and Lucy blinked the spots out of her eyes, clearly dazed. 

 

“Damnit,” she heard her guard curse as she finally noticed the scorch mark on the ground near her and the charred edges of two of her books. “Gray! You almost made me hit Lucy you bastard!” 

 

“Don't blame me for your terrible aim, Natsu!” 

 

He growled again as Lucy finally stood up, unaware that her hair was now falling in front of her face in messy strands or that the hem of her skirts were also singed. Instead, she inspected the charred grounds, surmising that it was a misplaced blast of fire all the way from the training grounds. She would have been impressed by the distance Natsu covered with both his magic and his ability to protect her, but the smell of a few burnt strands of hair struck her and the entire scene only served to fuel her rage instead. She noticed the royal guard Natsu had been fighting at Fairy Tail the day before, shouting across the distance at, who Natsu was obviously blaming for his mistake.

 

She couldn't hold herself back anymore and let loose her own form of a growl, “...Natsu.... You MORON!” Her guard didn't stand a chance when she quickly struck the book atop his head, sending him to his knees in one fell stroke before he scrambled away from her. 

 

“Luce-I'm sorry, I didn't me-” He never had the chance to finish as she took one threatening step towards him and waved the book again.

 

“That is Princess Lucy to you right now!” She seethed, quite certain steam was coming out her ears. With an imperceptible bow and a light squeak of apology, the body guard shot back towards the grounds, where she was certain he'd begin his fighting anew with the other guard. She had half a mind to chase after him and was near close to running when she caught herself. She was a mess now and the daughter of a King and she just struck her body guard in public! Panicking, she dropped her hands and immediately started picking up her books. She really hoped her father didn't catch wind of this. Lady's did not shout and strike their guards in anger and they most certainly didn't run across the grounds in a singed dress! With a mental note to inform the gardeners about the ruined grass, she rushed through the courtyard and back to the castle, hoping to find Lisanna in time to help her change.

 

She didn't notice the body guard watching her as she ran off before he began sparring again just as she didn't notice the Quartermaster shout at him and the guard called Gray. If she had stayed there longer, she would have also seen the old man get interrupted in his admonishment towards the two guards by a servant summoning him inside, and she would have seen the look of annoyance that had cross his face as well as the stone hard look on Natsu's that appeared moments after..  
  
But she noticed none of these things, as she had near ruined books to apologize for and a new dress to change into. If Natsu was lucky, she wouldn't strike him again when he took her out that night!

 

-

 

Makarov Dreyar, Quartermaster and trainer of the Mage Corpse, was not happy when he entered King Jude's study that day. His brats had destroyed the castle grounds again and had even embarrassed the princess. If not for the fact he knew even she kept secrets from her father, he would have expected this summons to be about the event that had occurred in the courtyard that day, but as fast as news spread throughout the castle, it did not spread that fast. The elderly man was not worried about this when he walked the halls to the study, but he walked with a stiffness that revealed his tension. 

 

He really hated speaking with the King. 

 

The door slammed open when he entered and he didn't bother to close it slowly either. The resounding echoes were there to serve as a way to expel irritation and he fought the urge to shout when the King glared at him from his seat. “Greetings, your highness, “ he said with mock respect and bowed. It was a quick bow, but thanks to his short stature, it looked as if he would touch the ground with his nose anyway. 

 

“Makarov,” Jude greeted with a hard stare and eyed the doors that had previously been abused, “I now know who the blame the next time one of those mages you trained slam that door in my presence. Apparently even you don't have manners.”

 

“Apologies, your highness,”He responded back with a droll look, “but I thought you knew that already.” 

 

Jude was not amused, but chose not to respond. Instead, he pulled out an old ledger from his desk and turned the frayed pages with a look almost akin to anxiety. Makarov would have been surprised by this, as the King of Fiore was well known for his cold facade in the face of any problem, but he recognized the ledger the King had retrieved and knew it for what it was. So, he was summoned for **that** was he?

 

“The demands for tithe have not been made this year,” The King finally chose to say after minutes of awkward silence. “It's every five years, and this is the fifth year, is it not?”

 

“It is.”  


The King stared at him and Makarov held back a growl.

 

“It is, your highness.” He amended, biting his tongue. The King nodded and resumed looking through the pages. His face was taut and his eyes glowered as if trying to set the pages alight. Makarov cleared his throat and added, “Perhaps there is no Tithe this year?”

 

“Don't be absurd, you know better.” Makarov nodded his head in consent and Jude grumbled under his breath before he closed the book again. “They better not dare to demand more from me if tithe does not make it on time this year. I wont give them double just because they lost their minds and forgot to issue the new demand!”

 

He was angry and Makarov wisely held off from reminding his King that these things were not things easily forgotten. Instead, he glanced out the windows and shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps, you should make a trip to see them.”

 

The King sputtered and glowered again.”Preposterous, that would be far too suspicious this time of year.”

 

“Would it really, your majesty?” Makarov questioned with a raised eyebrow. “The King of Fiore has been cooped up in his castle for the entire winter and decides to leave for a week trip of hunting to resettle himself. A few _trusted_ guards come along and its an outing. Is that truly something to question?” The room grew quiet again as Jude stared at Makarov with an eye twitch. The quartermaster was secretly happy to have annoyed his King,but made no show of it on his face. The candles flickered on the desk as they stared at one another, until finally, the King deflated and placed the book under his desk again.

 

“You make a valid point,” He stated, but the look he gave Makarov was nothing but sadistic, “You will accompany me for this.” Makarov felt his face drain of color and he silently cursed. Of course that's what would happen, why was he even surprised?

 

-

 

“Luce, you're not still mad at me are you.”

 

“Do not call me Luce.”

 

Her bodyguard let loose a childish whine and stared at her, “You are still mad at me!”

 

“No. I'm just livid.”  


“....what?”

 

Lucy sighed and growled to herself, “Fine, I'm still mad at you!”

 

“I knew it! Come on, I told you it was an accident!” Natsu whined again and Lucy rubbed her eyes in consternation. He had been begging her to forgive him from the time it took him to take her from her room and bring her to Fairy Tail. They were still walking down the street towards it,and his begging had only continued. She would have forgiven him already if he hadn't been bothering her for the entire trip.

 

Lucy didn't want to be mad. She was still excited to be coming to the bar once again and wanted to exclaim in excitement to her friend the entire time, but there was still remnants of her panic from earlier that was holding her back. She was usually far more composed then that when out and about on the castle grounds. It would do neither of them any good if her father suspected she was being 'corrupted' in some manner and she struggled with the fear that he would hear of her actions. Sighing, she glanced towards her bodyguard and shook her head,”Yes, I know you did.” She conceded, feeling her mind growing exhausted from the exertion of staying angry.

 

“Then can you forgive me? I swore I wouldn't let anything harm you Luce, even with my own fire. I did manage to stop it after all.” Sensing her ire was finally starting to die down, Natsu place an arm on her shoulder and ushered her towards the double doors of the bar. 

 

“Maybe, but stop calling me Luce!” She ordered, feeling that despite her lack of energy she still had to hold onto something to punish her fire mage with.

 

“No way!” He countered, hand on the door to the bar. Since when had they arrived so quickly, she wondered? “You're not a Princess when you're out here, you're just Lucy! So I'm calling you Luce if I want to.” The tone in his voice brook no arguments and she felt her cheeks heat up.

 

Of course he'd know the exact words to say to her, didn't he always? Being just Lucy was a privilege she didn't get often and just hearing that from him sent all aggravation out of her head. “F-fine... just open the doors already!” She groused, crossing her arms while her face flared.

 

Natsu grinned, realizing he had finally won, “You got it, Lucy.” She was more prepared for those doors to open then she had been the other night. She was ready for the smell of smoke and alcohol and the buzz of conversation, cheering and drunken singing. She was even prepared for the smiles on everyone's face when they welcomed her like an old friend and for Natsu to rush off and brawl with the first person he saw after entering the bar. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, Lucy was certain she'd step into the place on the right foot and slide right in to speaking with everyone again.

 

What she wasn't prepared for, was the blue streak of fur that suddenly attached itself to Natsu as soon as they entered or its shouts of, “Natsu! I have to talk to you right now, why didn't you come sooner?!” Nor was she prepared to see Natsu greet the blue ball of fur with a concerned smile, a pat on the head and a confused tilt of his head.

 

“Happy? You made it here in less than two days? How did you manage that, buddy?” His smile was wide, but something in his eyes sparked in concern. Lucy noticed half the occupants were watching them as the scene unfolded, but she found she couldn't pay more attention to them. Her eyes were glued to the furry animal with wings nestled in her bodyguard's arms.

 

“I flew as fast I could!” The cat cried out, obviously still exhausted, but his eyes were wide and he spoke with a rush. “I have to talk to you right now! It's important!”

 

These things were not things that Lucy was prepared for and she could barely even register the words coming out of the cat's mouth other than the fact that words did come out. There was a cat with wings.. talking to her bodyguard like they knew each other. A cat with... 

 

The book she had been reading of myths and legends struck her like a ton of bricks and she found herself asking before she could even think, “...is....that an exceed?”

 

_To be continued..._


	6. Impending

Lucy was in a very good mood.

 

She was not glowering at a mug of water that had been offered to her. A princess does not glower.

 

She also was not grumbling under her breath. A princess didn't do that either.

 

Lucy was just _fine-_

 

“....are you okay?”

 

-at least, that's what she kept telling herself. Being drawn from her reverie, Lucy finally tore her gaze away from the cracked table and realized someone had been speaking to her. A very familiar someone. Lisanna sat next to her, arms holding a cleaning rag as she eyed the Princess with concern. It struck Lucy that the girl who worked as her handmaiden during the day was waiting for an answer to...

“I'm sorry... what?” She really needed to pay more attention.

 

The short haired girl smiled in amusement, clearly thinking the same thing, but taking no offense from it. “You looked upset Lu-My lady.” The correction was there and it hung in the air awkwardly. It must have been hard when one worked for the other during the day, but Lucy remembered that her handmaiden had also been trained as a mage and so seeing her here wasn't that much of a surprise. That gave them something in common.

 

Briefly remembering something Natsu had told her many times before, Lucy smiled and waved her hand, “I'm just Lucy here.” The tense air dispersed immediately and Lisanna relaxed, not before she noticed Lucy's shoulder stiffen again as she realized who she had just thought of.

 

“Good, that means I can outright tell you that your frowning and if you do it too much it's going to give you wrinkles.” The blonde winced, but didn't fail to notice her companion winking.”I'd very much like to know what has you so upset.”

 

Lucy saw no point in lying and glanced towards the doors behind the counter, “Natsu's back there and I don't know why.” The look she received prompted her to explain further. “We weren't even here for a second and he's run off to get some _important_ news from a creature I've only read about before, and he didn't answer my questions!” The frustration was apparent in her voice.

 

Understanding dawned in Lisanna's eyes when she asked, “Oh, you mean Happy?”

 

“... you know its name?!”

 

“Him, Lucy- Happy is a boy.”

 

The Princess blushed and glanced back at the table. “Sorry- I guess I'm still a little shocked. The book I had just read today says his kind are mere myths. How can one be here without anyone else freaking out?”

 

“He's always been here. Natsu brought him when he started his training to be your guard.” Lucy's back straightened when she heard this and she glanced back to Lisanna. This was something she had never heard before. How long had Natsu been her guard now and how much longer had it been since they became friends? How did she not know this already? Sensing the question in her gaze, Lisanna frowned lightly and shook her head, “I can't answer more then that- I'm sorry. I don't even know where he got Happy, we just... accepted him, you know?”

 

Lucy nodded her head. It was only her second time here after all and she had already witnessed first hand just how accepting the mages here could be. It still did nothing to ease her curiosity, but pressing the matter would do her no good at this point. Instead, she crossed her arms and cast another glare in the direction of the back rooms. Lisanna giggled immediately and pressed the forgotten mug of water into her hands.

 

“Don't worry.” She assured, smiling brightly, “He'll come out soon and then you can interrogate him all you want.” Seeing Lucy re-accept the mug, the silver haired beauty stood to leave. “I better go now. I have to help my brother with chores before Mira gets home.”

 

This statement also surprised Lucy. “You mean Mirajane?”

 

“Of course, silly, she's my sister too!”

 

The silver-haired girl walked amidst the crowd before Lucy could properly process this information and the Princess fingered her mug in contemplation. The mages here really did have strong connections, didn't they? So many were related or trained together in the Mage Corps, even her own handmaiden was related to the barmaid she had only recently met. She wondered how many more surprises she was in store for now that she had finally been brought here? Lucy tipped her mug and drank of it, allowing her eyes to trail around the customers who littered the area. She knew they were mages and in some way, that meant they worked for her- her father to be more accurate, and the revelation made her feel mildly guilty. The keys she had been studying for years since her mother passed clung comfortably to the inside of her sleeve and she wondered what would have happened if she hadn't kept her own affinity for magic a secret for all these years. She possessed few keys, as it was hard to go out and look for them, but it was close to the only thing she had in common with everyone here.

 

It did nothing to ease her dwindling self confidence when she reminded herself yet again on how the occupants of this place had seemed perfectly okay with that.

 

She finished her drink and lowered her mug when a figure in a far corner of the bar caught her attention. If not for the bright blue hair that covered this girl's head, she would have missed her amidst the multitude of books that surrounding that area as well and Lucy found herself immediately curious. Towering books meant there was something else she had in common here, if only she knew who the small figure was hiding behind the piles. Feeling too open now that Lisanna had left, Lucy left her chair and deftly made her way to book-filled corner.

 

She recognized the figure as the very librarian who set out books for her to read daily back at the castle. The woman was small, and always looked busy. Lucy rarely saw her even after she had been hired, but knew she never failed to know exactly what books Lucy was in the mood for reading each day she came in. Her irritation with Natsu dwindled slightly and she approached the girl who was currently so immersed with the book she was reading, that she didn't even notice the Princess of Fiore suddenly sitting next to her.

 

“Fehu... F... other wise know as the rune for...” She was turning pages at an impressive rate and muttering under her breath a mile a minute, but the moment Lucy cleared her throat, she slammed her book shut and stared up in shock. “Oh! I..I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come over.”

 

Lucy smiled, already feeling like she had found her perfect distraction for the night. “That's fine, I was just interested in all these books you brought out here. These aren't from the palace library are they?”

 

The girl looked mildly affronted. “Of course not! I brought these all from my personal collection!” The glasses she was wearing slid down her nose and she took a better look at Lucy- with a sudden redness in her cheeks and a squawk of surprise, the girl fumbled her book and stared. “Princess Lucy-I...- I had no idea you would be here!”

 

For the first time that night, Lucy felt like being a little candid, “Neither does my father.” She winked and glanced at one of the many piles around them. “So this is why I never see you get my books... how do you know what I want to read if you're hiding away all the time?” The girl seemed shocked for only a moment at Lucy's levity and seemed to make an immediate decision regarding Lucy as soon as a bright, if almost smug smile covered her face.

 

“Oh, Princess, I'm Levy Mcgarden,” she said happily, “if it's about books, I'm going to know it. It wasn't too hard to figure you out.” The playful smile was contagious.

 

The blonde let it catch and grinned in return. “Just call me Lucy. So, how about we talk for a bit. You can tell me why you're sitting here by yourself.”

 

“Well, I'm actually waiting for two of my friends. We usually meet up here to spend time together, but they're late today.”

 

“Oh really? Who are they?”

 

Time passed with the two girls speaking to one another and Lucy hardly even thought about her strange bodyguard and the cat that had jolted her mind. They would come out eventually, and until then, she'd enjoy making a friend.

 

Natsu, on the other hand, was thinking of only one person by the time he came out from the back rooms. It was very strange for Happy to fly himself into exhaustion just to deliver a message and it was worrying him despite the confident face he held when they first entered Fairy Tail. He knew Lucy would not be happy with his lack of introduction to the Exceed. It was no secret that Exceeds were thought to be lost creatures- much like dragons, but it had become so common inside the bar, that he barely even realized the implications of Lucy's words when she first laid sight on the blue creature.

 

He decided he'd deal with that later, and instead he left the blonde behind to mingle while Happy clung to him all the way into the kitchens where Mirajane welcomed them with a worried crease in her brow.

 

“I'm glad you're here Natsu,” she told him while grabbing a slip of paper off of a small cushion that Happy normally used as his bed. “Happy has been anxious all day for you to see this!”

 

The look on the guard's face was surprisingly intense. “Did you read it?”

 

The barmaid shook her head. “I know the deal. Of course I didn't.”

 

“Thanks Mirajane.” Just like that, the look was gone and he glanced back to the blue cat, still clinging to the front of his shirt. “Is this what ya' wanted to talk to me about?”

 

“Aye-” Happy replied, ears lowered. “He wanted me to get it to you as fast as I could, so that's what I did.”

 

“You sure you just didn't take him too seriously?”

 

“Of course not! Don't be mean, Natsu! I know when he's serious!”

 

He sat the cat down and patted his head, “Sorry, buddy, I know you're smarter then that.” Ignoring the huff Happy gave him, Natsu quickly took the paper from Mirajane and opened it's contents. Immediately, his eyebrows shot up.

 

“What is it, Natsu?” Mirajane didn't like his looks of surprise when reading these messages and wondered if she should press for more information. When she heard breaking glass out in the main room, she winced and also wondered if she should tend to the customers instead.

 

“Pop's hand writing is terrible, did he try writing with his teeth?”

 

She slammed her palm against her forehead and shook her head, “I don't think that's the point in the letter Natsu!”

 

“Yeah Natsu, that's hardly the point!” Happy echoed, “Though he did write it in a hurry.”

 

“Yeah, yeah...” Natsu trailed off, finally reading the contents and the intensity that had earlier dispersed returned with a vengeance. His coal black eyes scanned the letter again and his muscles tensed with every second that went by. Soon, even the air took a hazy quality around him as heat radiated off his skin. It wasn't something that happened every day at the bar and Mirajane stepped back as a wave of heat washed over her face. It stung, unlike a comfortable warmth from a campfire and it nearly stifled her breathing. With a glance towards Happy, she noticed the cat had done the same before he hopped on the Body guard's shoulder and shook his head.

 

“Natsu! You're suffocating me!” The cat whined, but the fire mage didn't seem to hear him as his eyes stayed on the letter. A low growl thrummed from his throat suddenly and echoed through the room. It was like a warning that traveled through the air and tickled across the skin of both cat and barmaid: Mirajane and Happy shivered.

 

Thinking quickly, Mirajane grabbed the nearest mug she could and dumped its contents over Natsu's head. The cold well water of the sink met his hair and the moment ended with Natsu gasping at the sudden shock of chilled water and the heat disappeared as if it had never been. Steam came off his shoulders and he glanced around sheepishly.

 

“Crap, sorry about that.” He glanced at them and grinned, as if he hadn't just been as tense as a panther about to pounce. “Come on Happy, I should introduce you to Lucy.” He turned to leave, ignoring the droplets of water that dripped from his hair and the concerned look the exceed was giving him.

 

Mirajane wasn't buying it. “Natsu, what was that?” The tone in her voice brook no arguments and he cringed. With one hand, he raised the paper for her to see and promptly lit it up, fire turning it to ash in seconds.

 

“Sorry again Mira...Pop's has just heard things coming up in the forests from Gajeel. He wants to make sure I knew that.” He dumped the ashes into the nearest bin and walked out into the bar hall, but the barmaid caught the last words he muttered under his breath and it did nothing to ease her conscience.

 

“I might not be able to bring Lucy here for awhile...”

 

Just what was in that letter? Now she wished she really had read it.

 

Natsu's mind was whirling and his dark eyes were hard by the time he spotted Lucy in the crowd. As soon as he found her lost in a sea of books with the quiet Levy, he immediately smiled. That couldn't have ended better if he had actually tried. He was more surprised they hadn't met before this. With a smile and nod to Happy, he passed along the silent message to not bring up the message to Lucy and immediately waded through the crowd to get to the Princess.

 

With each table he passed, he was greeted by a mage that had either met him during training, the barracks or just in the bar itself. They had all worked together for years, young and old, and it was much like greeting family at a reunion. Instead of falling prey to a few calls to rumble though, Natsu steeled himself and ignore them- an odd thing, but he couldn't be bothered with it right now.

 

“Natsu, not accepting a brawl and a drink? What has the world come to?!”

 

“Shut up! He's taking me to meet Lucy!” Happy was the one to shout at them, gliding in the air as his tail swayed in anticipation.

 

“Oh is that how it is?”

 

By the time he did reach the far corner where the girls huddled, Natsu was surprised by how hard it actually was to get through everyone when he actually wanted to, it made his grin widen. No wonder her loved coming here. Without preamble, he stepped into the circle the girls had made of books and greeted them with a wave of his hands.

 

“Hey, Luce! I see you've finally met Levy! How's it going?”

 

He was surprised by both girls suddenly shoving him backwards and into a nearby chair, eyes burning in anger.

 

“Natsu! Those are Levy's books you just stepped on!” Lucy's voice seethed and the body guard winced. Didn't she just finish yelling at him earlier that day for burning books too? He sat down and allowed himself to frown, he just couldn't catch a break here!

 

“Wah- Natsu, you didn't tell me that Lucy was scary!” Happy interjected his thoughts and the angry girls, causing all three of them to look at the flying cat. He was landing on a rather large pile of the tomes and eyed Lucy with wide eyes. The girl in question, paused and stared, much as she did when he'd first barreled into Natsu.

 

“Is that the-” She began to speak, eying the cat curiously before she was interrupted. Oddly, by Levy.

 

“Happy is here?! Oh that's great, it's been months since I last saw you!”

 

“Hiya Levy!” The cat was only too gleeful by her greeting and allowed the blue-haired girl to grab him into a hug. Natsu grinned at the perplexed look in Lucy's eyes and chose to finally get introductions out of the way.

 

“Luce,” He began, finally gaining her quizzical gaze on him instead, “This is Happy, he's my little buddy.”

 

The question was out of her mouth before she could even stop herself. “Why haven't I seen him before?”

 

Happy, taking to the air again, crossed his arms and sent Natsu and angry leer, “Because Natsu's a meanie who wouldn't bring you here sooner!”

 

“That's not it!” Natsu swatted at the exceed playfully before he looked back to Lucy, almost apologetically. “Mirajane keeps him here so you're Dad doesn't find out.. we thought it would be bad.”

 

Lucy couldn't fault him for that. If exceeds truly existed, her father definitely would want something to do with- and she wasn't entirely sure it would be a good thing that he'd use them for. “But.. Natsu...” something was still nagging her about the whole thing and her eyes furrowed. Natsu's jaw clenched, but she didn't notice.

 

“What is it, Luce?” He asked, not quite liking the way her voice took quiet tone of thought. When she got inquisitive, it meant trouble for him. She had a strange way of making him stumble over himself when she danced him around topics like this.

 

“Why is your hair doused in water?”

 

Oh, he blinked dumbly for a moment, was his hair still wet? Hearing a giggle from Happy and meeting Levy's own curious raise of an eyebrow, the boy touched his hair. So it truly was damp still- he must have cooled himself off faster than he had thought. With a shrug of his shoulders, he grinned impishly and pointed to Happy.

 

“Oh, me and him were just having a little fun in the kitchens, right buddy?”

 

“Aye!” Happy took to his statement with an odd gleam in his eye and Lucy didn't look too convinced at first.

 

Levy chose that moment as a good time to interject, “That means they probably damaged the kitchen some. Mirjane is going to have her hands full tonight.”

 

“Oi, we're not that bad.” Natsu defended.

 

“Yeah! We're definitely worse!” Happy added and Natsu stared at him in shock.

 

“You're supposed to be on my side Happy!” He groaned, but before a play argument could start between the body guard and the cat, he froze when Lucy's laughter erupted behind him in giddy trills. Pausing in mid turn to the cat, he instead glanced to the Princess and watched as her shoulders shook and tears gleamed in the corner of her eyes from the force of her own amusement.

 

“I can see why you're friends.”She said amidst her giggles, “and I have to take Happy's side on this one. You're definitely worse!”

 

Levy burst into laughter then and Natsu's jaw dropped. “Come on, Luce, that's not nice!”

 

Happy landed on his shoulder and smiled wickedly at the girl, “I'm glad you have the sense to know I'm right, Lucy, looks like Natsu was wrong about you after all- you're not half bad!”

 

Lucy's laughter immediately immediately ended as she suddenly glared at the cat, “and what's THAT supposed to mean?!” With that, the princess grabbed for the cat as he took flight off of Natsu's shoulder and began a small, impromptu chase around the books. Natsu and Levy watched in amazed wonder as a softer grin slowly danced itself across Natsu's face. He definitely should have introduced them sooner.

 

“I think... he might be good for her.” He muttered quietly, gaining Levy's attention.

 

“What was that, Natsu?”

 

He shook his head. “Nothing.” Ignoring the stare he received, he moved to stop Lucy from yanking on the tail of his cat and allowed another laugh to escape him. “Hey Lucy, don't be so mean to my cat here, he's just a little guy!”

 

This night at the Fairy Tail Bar was turning out to be a far more amusing one than Lucy had thought it would be and Natsu stuck to Lucy far more than he did her first night there. He laughed in glee and happily played along with teasing the Princess right along with his cat and never once gave hint to the concern that had been building inside of him since the note he had read from his father. It was there, in the back of his mind, but he wouldn't worry Lucy- not yet. She didn't need to know as long as he did his job right.

 

It was a shame that he'd have to keep Lucy at the castle for awhile after only bringing her out for her second night with the other mages, but there was little choice in the matter. He would just have to make it up to her by bringing her back later when he was given the all clear. **New bandits in the woods and dangerous talk of an attack on the royal family before the other Kingdoms could come for the celebrations planned.** It wasn't something he had wanted to hear or even think about, but until he could get more information, Natsu wasn't going to take chances by having Lucy out of the castle.

 

As he laughed with her and joked around, he knew he'd have to think of something to convince her that he couldn't take her out for awhile, he just hoped she wouldn't be too difficult about it. In the meantime, the fire mage decided to let her have as fun of a night as she could muster before it all came to a sudden end. It was a good plan. He hoped.


	7. Keeping Secrets

_ Stuck to the earth, she was lost in brambles and bushes with thorns. She was unaware of the direction she traveled or even the destination. Through the forest she struggled, never minding the scrapes and cuts acquired along the way. Despite her struggle, the sweat that dampened her hair and the exhaustion in her limbs, she continued. It was all worth it in the end. When she finally stopped, reaching the edge of the forest that watched over the ocean, she saw flight. _

 

_He was beautiful. Red and shining under the sunlight, he flew like fire. A Dragon of old, alive and real, skimmed across the sea and grazed its watery depths with his sharp talons. After the hours of rushing through thick underbrush, the sight was breathtaking and made her heart ache._

 

_So majestic was the Dragon that she at first felt threatened and humbled all at once by him. Who was she to look upon such a spectacle? Who was she to feel no fear? She almost turned to fight through the forest again if not for the loud cry that pierced her ears. Eying the copse of trees she hid within, he called to her. He welcomed her with a roaring trill that sent shivers up her spine. It was a greeting and a question. It made not just her heart ache, but her soul as well._

 

_With a croon from the skies- the dragon asked her to fly with him. She reached out, desperately wishing that she could..._

 

 

Lucy awoke to intense heat and snores rivaling that of a foghorn in her ear. If not for the rude sound attacking her eardrums, she would have smiled brightly at the sun coming through the open doors of her balcony and reveled in the good dream she had. It fluttered away like the wind when another snore echoed in the room and she frowned when the heat increased around her midsection. Through the hazy mess of sleep, Lucy finally realized that someone had their arms around her. Which also meant...

 

“Whose in my bed?!” She shrieked, twirling herself in the blankets and scrambling out of the embrace of a sleeping fire mage- whose half-naked body lay uncovered on the mattress. With flaming cheeks and a snarl of outrage, the princess flung the first thing she could grab at his prone form: which happened to be a metal candlestick.

 

He woke rather quickly, shooting up from his position as a yelp of pain escaped his sleep-parched throat. “What in the- ow, Luce, what was that for?!” With a sleepy pout, the body-guard knocked the offensive, blunt weapon to the floor and tried to sooth the pain in his ribs. “That's not a nice way to wake up people...”

 

“Since you're in MY bed, I doubt it matters how nice I am to you!” Lucy snorted before wildly glancing out her window. “Natsu, it's already morning. WHAT are you doing in my bed?”  
  
“Well, I got sleepy and it's a lot better to watch you if I'm nearby so...”

 

The Princess rubbed her temple and groaned. “Natsu, I thought you grew out of this habit when I was twelve. You know that's what the amulet is for, so I can inform you if I'm in danger.” She didn't bother to mention how she wasn't under any threat so his concern was unnecessary. Lucy knew that argument would just go through one ear and out the other with him. Noticing he hadn't budged, her cheeks flamed again and she practically snarled. “Get out of my bed already and put your shirt back on!”

 

Grumbling, the fire mage slid from her silken covers and stooped down to retrieve the shirt he had tossed aside the night before. Lucy, trying to not watch her bodyguard who had aged too well in the years she had known him, quickly wrapped a robe around herself and frantically hoped that no one was outside of her door. Once he was dressed, she wasted no time in shoving him towards the doors, never-minding the way he dug his feet in the floor and protested.

 

“Hey- woah, what are you doing?”

 

“You have to leave before one of the guards sees you! You can't be in my room right now!” She hissed, intent to throw him out on his backside if she had to.

 

In a frustrating maneuver that left her winded, the boy spun himself out of her grasp and held her arms behind her, effectively nullifying her actions. “You've really got to calm down, I've been in here before.”

 

“And Lisanna walked in on us last time! Let me go!”

 

“What's Lisanna have to do with anything?” He sounded confused. Lucy groaned.

 

“Natsu, you dense moron! If my Father hears of this you're dead!” She hoped that would break him. He was silent, but the iron grip he held on her arms did not lessen. “Please, Natsu, at least come back when I'm properly dressed?” A whine escaped her lips for good measure.

 

To her relief, he released her, but not to leave the room as she had requested. Instead, the fire-mage turned in a completely different direction: her balcony.

 

“Well, if you don't want people to see, I can't go out through the main door, weirdo.” She could hear the grin in his voice as he walked through the glass doors he'd left open the night before. With all his teeth showing, he turned a grin back at her and chuckled. “By the way, your Dad left on his hunting trip yesterday, remember?”

 

Oh.

 

That...that was true. Feeling a little silly, the Princess tried to amend herself, but before she could say much else, the fire-mage dropped down to the windows below and disappeared. He had always been good at scaling the walls to her room, but watching him drop down always caused her heart to jump in her throat. Today was no different. Shuffling herself to the balcony as well, she glanced down in time to see his pink hair a few stories down, entering the servants quarters. Sighing, Lucy decided that her dimwitted guard would be able to take care of himself from there and she quickly moved to decide on her wardrobe.

 

Natsu had been right. Not a day after her last trip to the Fairy Tail Tavern, King Jude had informed her and the rest of the palace of his decision to go on an early hunting trip this year. He had said it was to relax himself before the celebrations in summer. Many of the servants gossiped that it was also a way for him to escape the castle walls now that the winter chill wasn't keeping them all cooped up inside. Lucy had seen it as a chance to go to the mage-friendly bar as often as she would like, knowing that the guard would be lax without him and his chosen royal troupe parading about the halls.

 

She sighed again. That also meant that most of the help had the day off today, which meant she'd have to choose a less complicated dress. Lisanna wouldn't be there to help her into the corset after all. Lucy wasn't surprised by the relief that washed over her at this revelation. She never did like those constricting things.

 

As she finished dressing, the Princess of Fiore decided she'd make the most of it by seeing if Natsu would be willing to take her out of the castle grounds and into the city Market for the day. She could use the walk and no one was there to tell her no.

 

“Your Highness! Once you have finished dressing, can you please meet me in the hall?” A knock on the door ruined the relaxing thoughts in her head and her shoulders slumped. No one was there except for one person: her tutor Artor, the King's Chancellor.

 

Great.

 

It was well past lunch by the time Natsu saw Lucy again that day. Many times since he had been kicked from her room that morning, the fire mage had tried to find her, but was blocked from doing so each time. First, he had been spotted in the servants quarters that morning by Erza, who was in charge during the Quartermaster Makarov's absence. The red haired harpy (as he liked to call her in the depths of his mind) had sent him to the grounds for some drills with the remaining Mage Corps. This effectively kept him busy the entire morning.

 

Which wasn't a problem, usually, as he loved sparring with the others. It was good practice and about the only time he could see his friends asides from the nights they were at the bar together. However, he was tense and unfocused. It was terrible, keeping his mind on sparring when his thoughts were focused on the Princess under his guard. She didn't know it, but ever since the last night at the bar, his insides churned at being a part from her. The letter delivered to him by Happy was burned into his retina's and it left his hands twitching.

 

Bandits were amassing in the woods. There was already a troupe of bandits that constantly hounded the forests of Fiore, it was a bad sign when more were appearing. That wasn't too troublesome for him though. Gajeel, one of the many he had bunked with while in training, was stationed on the outskirts of Magnolia's walls, keeping his eyes and ears open for any upheaval those thugs may cause. No, his main concern was what the rest of the letter had said...

 

_News from Gajeel has come to me. Whispers are being spoken of plans to attack the royal family before the celebrations this summer. Keep your eyes open, Natsu. You know your duty. Don't disappoint me, idiot boy!_

 

That had been the message that left him steaming and his instincts churned underneath his skin. Natsu's gut feelings had a tendency to be correct, so he never doubted them. Now, they were telling him to stay close to his blonde charge. Being on the Palace grounds instead of where he can see her was testing his resolve. It was why he had been in her room that morning.. and the nights before. It was only from sheer bad luck that she had woken before him and caught him in the act, but how else was he supposed to keep watch on her? It must have been that strange dream he had been having that kept him sleeping well after she awoke.

 

He frowned at the memory of it. Hadn't he been flying? Shaking his head, Natsu continued his less than stately walk down the halls. If Lucy had been with him, she would have scolded him for acting below his station, but really, that hardly mattered to him. Now that he finally had the time, he was going to settle his quelling instincts by finding the one person he wanted to keep an eye on.

 

“Lady Heartfilia is in the drawing room.” One of the maids had told him, “She's being fitted for her gowns.”

 

“Gowns? What gowns?” He asked, puzzled.

 

“For the dinners she'll be going to with her suitors of course! Don't you pay attention to anything Ser Dragneel?”

 

He had winced at that as he had completely forgot about the celebrations the King had been planning for that summer. Lucy must have been stuck in those rooms just as he had been on the grounds all day. Dreading the mood she was sure to be in, he idly wondered if he'd be forced into new clothes as well for the dinners. He hoped not, those kinds of clothes always chaffed him something fierce..

 

Natsu had no more time to consider these thoughts once he stepped into the drawing room. Instead, his onyx eyes landed on the shining gold of the Princess' hair, pinned up out of the way for the seamstress who circled her, measuring and pinning bits of fabric to a corset that made his chest tighten as if he were wearing it. The things nobles went through to look nice... he had to hold back a grimace that quickly turned into a chortle when he saw Lucy lose her balance and nearly topple over in the hoop skirt she had been placed in.

 

Both women, now alert to his presence, turned immediately to glower in his direction, but he continued laughing. She always looked so silly and put out like this, how could he not laugh? “I see you've had a worse day than me, Luce. This is hysterical!” He barely noticed the aghast stare the seamstress gave him, but he stiffened immediately at the look of ice in Lucy's eyes.

 

Through gritted teeth, the Princess motioned for the woman to unhook the skirt from her and her back stiffened to glare at her body guard. Really, he could be so dense sometimes... “I'm glad that you are amused, Ser Dragneel.”

 

Natsu felt the pit of his stomach drop. Crap, she only called him that when he'd done something wrong. Stepping out of the doorway, he made way for the seamstress as Lucy dismissed the plump woman. In a huff and slur of words, she had gathered all of her supplies and quickly marched out of the room. Though she made sure to give a parting shot to the body guard as she passed. Natsu couldn't be bothered to hear her as he bore the brunt of Lucy's cold stare.

 

Once the doors had been shut behind them, the Princess relaxed, only by a fraction before she advanced upon her guard and shook him by his collar. “Idiot! Don't you know you can't talk to me like that in front of people like her?!”

 

“Oh come on Luce, it can't be all that bad...” He tried to reason, blinking at her. “I was just happy to see ya', that's all.”

 

Lucy's cheeks reddened as she stared at him. “Well..I..uh.. thanks. It's.. nice to see you too.” She floundered. She spun from him then and walked behind the dress screen in the corner. “Let me get presentable again, okay? Stay right there!”

 

“You mean I can't move?”

 

“That's right!”

 

He groaned. “That's no fun, you can't expect me to do that!” As he spoke, he was already moving himself into the room, examining the plush furniture that had been shoved aside while Lucy had been measured. “Couldn't they have picked a better room?”

 

“Probably, but Artor wanted the Seamstress comfortable while she worked.” Lucy's voice hardly sounded enthused as she replied. Instead, she sounded exhausted. “I'll be trying my dresses on in here while she works on them.”

 

“Why not just use your room?”

 

“Not enough natural lighting.”

 

He stared dubiously at the screen she hid behind. “.....but you have that huge balcony!”

 

Lucy poked her head around the screen to stare at him. “She'd spill everything! Ugh, never mind... I don't want to talk about it anymore.” She stepped out, dressed in a far simpler dress and allowed herself to sink into a nearby sofa. “I'm so tired... that really wore me out.”

 

He snorted. “You just stood there while a lady circled you with needles, how is that exhausting?”

 

“It just is.” She stretched and eyed him lazily. “Say.. if I took a nap, do you think you could wake me before dinner?”

 

“A nap sounds great!”

 

“Not you! I need you to wake me up!”

 

Natsu looked as if she told him he'd get no dinner for the rest of the week. “Aw, Luce, that's so boring! You can't expect me to just sit here all nice like while you get to be lazy!”

 

She opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it. A bored Natsu while she slept always led to terrible things and she did not feel like explaining to Artor why the drawing room would need renovations later.”You know what, your right. I just wont sleep then.” With an excited grin suddenly springing to her face, she leaned forward. “How about you tell me when we're going to Fairy Tail again, instead? It's been about five days now, right?”

 

Natsu suddenly couldn't bring himself to look at her as he grew quiet. She didn't notice at first and continued talking with her brown eyes gleaming. “It's so relaxing there! I can't wait to see everyone again. Who do you think I'll meet this time? Oh! Do you think Erza will actually be there? I've always wondered how she is outside of her armor....”

 

He answered back with as much humor as he could muster, which was a poor amount. “She's still in it.. her armor that is. That beast never takes it off... or the attitude.” He knew she would want to meet everyone of the mage corps outside of their usual jobs eventually, but the thought of her actually holding a conversation with captain of the guard, Erza, was frightening to him for reasons he couldn't explain.

 

“Really? That can hardly be comfortable, you think she'd at least...” finally noticing his lack of response, Lucy stopped prattling and her face grew worried. “Natsu... are you okay?”

 

“Yeah! I'm fine!” He said a little too quickly. “But hey, remember... we don't want to go too often or people might get suspicious....”

 

Lucy's shock was clear on her face, “it's been five days! I don't think even you've gone out! Don't you want to see Happy?”

 

Natsu blanched. “What kind of question is that?! Of course I do!”

 

“Well then, why don't we go tonight?” The excitement was slowly coming back into her voice.

 

“No!”

 

The room grew silent as Natsu's gaze finally met hers and a sudden chill crept up her spine. His shout was raspy, dark and full of anger. Why was he angry? Even the usual, wide eyes were narrowed into thin slits. It was as if someone had struck Lucy across the face. She hadn't seen such a look on him since one of the Duke's had tried to grope her at the last Fall Festival. It was a look he reserved only for those who truly annoyed him. She couldn't think of a single time in all the years she had known him that he had ever looked at her like that.

 

Biting her lip, Lucy shifted anxiously, “....Natsu? What are you saying? Why are you so mad?”

 

The bodyguard seemed at war with himself. If not for his clenched fists and intense gaze, she may have done more than just stare, but his dark eyes kept her locked in place. Gritting his teeth, the fire mage growled in the back of his throat and tried to calm himself. It would do him no good to snap at her for something she wasn't aware of, but what else could he do? She was just so... he flinched when the edge of his own canines dug into his lip and all thoughts to calm himself failed.

 

“I'm not taking you to Fairy Tail tonight,” He managed, voice far rougher than intended. “I can't just take you whenever you want, Luce. You could get yelled at or something if you were caught- but I could lose my job!” A distant part of him hoped this would be enough to dissuade her, but even he knew it was a weak argument when he was the one saying it.

 

Lucy was flabbergasted. Never had he seemed so serious and logical before. On a usual day, being logical would have pleased her- it would have made sense, but it made none today. Her poor, silly, irresponsible body guard was talking to her as if she was the one making impossible demands. Just who did he think- it was hypocrisy if she'd ever heard of it. The words fell from her lips as she thought them and the flinch her guard made in return spoke volumes.

 

“That's ridiculous, Natsu!” She argued, “You're always doing things that puts your job on the line. You were the one who OFFERED to start taking me, remember? How can you just change your mind?”

 

His looked away, giving Lucy an edge, “Look.. Lucy- I just.. I don't feel like going tonight that's all....” He hedged and shifted his eyes, feeling uncomfortable and unsure how he was going to smooth this over without saying too much all at once.

 

Lucy wasn't having it. “You- you really are a hypocrite! What's wrong with you today? Why are you being so... not you?” Her voice toned down and changed to worry as another conclusion revealed itself to her. “...did something happen?”

 

Mind snapping, Natsu reverted back to his glare and practically snarled, “I said you're not going! Stop being a pushy princess, Lucy, it's annoying!”

 

All concern was wiped from her face and was replaced in shock that quickly changed to a wounded stare. She couldn't believe she was hearing this. He noticed the pained look too late and before he could take back his words her pain was covered in pure rage. In dead silence, the princess stood and walked towards the exit. She wasn't going to put up with this anymore. Not while he was being so irrational. She wasn't even going to respond.

 

Realizing he went too far, Natsu raised a hand as if to reach out for her,”Luce.. I'm.. I'm sorry I didn't-”

With eyes blazing she whirled to him and hissed with pure acid in her words. “ _You will call me_ Y _our Highness_ , _Ser Dragneel._ Good day.” Without another look, she slammed the door behind her and stomped down the halls. With a guilty sigh, the body guard slumped into a chair and groaned.

 

Keeping secrets was hard...


	8. Hindsight

There was a new group traveling in the forest which was nothing new. Tourists came along the paths in droves just to see the rainbow-colored trees that bloomed in the Spring. Many came and went, staying in the city of Magnolia for days- sometimes the entire season. This group was neither big, nor small and they carried very little belongings.

 

He mistrusted them the moment he saw them. Gajeel, member of King Jude's Mage patrol unit, watched them with intense eyes. They carried nothing to reveal staying for days and their faces were hidden under the hoods of their cloaks. They smelled of steel and oil used to clean and sharpen blades. It was well-known to many that the Crime Sorciere Bandits called these woods their territory and a part of him felt that this group may have been the same. He knew those bandits though and dismissed the idea immediately. These were outsiders and he was certain they weren't there to sight see.

 

The question was, what were they there for?

 

His patrol was meant to see those coming and going and to report any suspicious activity after he had gained enough information on the subjects he watched. He always worked alone, allowing other patrolling mages to secure the walls of Magnolia instead of the forests themselves. He worked faster that way. Watching the group was child's play. He had no issue following them through the trees and not a single one ever seemed to suspect they were not alone.

 

_Amateurs_ , Gajeel sneered as he watched them. It was almost too easy and his fingers itched to beat the answers out of them, but he'd bide his time. Just for a little longer.

 

As the day moved on into sunset, the group had begun to thin themselves out. Branching further into the woods in a line to the point that the patrolling mage almost cursed them out loud, but it truly didn't matter if he couldn't see them. Their stench would keep him posted to their whereabouts. He laid himself out on a high up branch when they stopped to rest and closed his steely eyes, listening in to everything they had to say. Which was very little, and very frustrating for him. If he didn't get answers from them soon he really was going to pin them to the trees with iron if he had to.

 

“Playing the stalker, I see.” He barely reacted when the voice of his long-time partner joined him on the branch. Despite his many superior senses, Gajeel was never quite sure how his ally managed to sneak up on him like this, but he paid it no mind. Instead, he grunted and glanced quickly to the small, black cat that sat beside him.

 

“You're late.” He muttered, casting his glance back towards the group that were sitting silently. “Did that asshole give you anything good to tell me?”

 

“No- he wants you to give him more useful information before he says anything else pertaining towards the letter last week.”

 

“Tch- of course.” He shifted and grinned maliciously at the cat, “Salamander's probably having a field day with that one. That fire breather is too stupid to stay calm when those old fart's get vague.”

 

Pantherlilly, as that was his name, chuckled quietly before eying the same men Gajeel had been following all day. “New quarry? What are they after?”

 

The wild-haired man grunted again, “Nothing good.” He watched his cat and his cat watched him in those spare moments, as if sharing a conversation through their eyes. Gajeels eye's trailed the scar on Pantherlilly's face while the cat studied his partner's studded eyebrows. Truly they were an odd pair.

 

“Need help?” The male cat ventured to say after a few moments of silence. Gajeel's face split into a fanged grin malicious enough to scare puppies.

 

“That's my cat- go get me something interesting!”

 

The forest was still silent as the exceed rolled his eyes and sprouted wings, taking off through the thickets to tail the members spread out from the rest. Amused, Gajeel relaxed again. His cat certainly did make things easier on him, this was going to be a cinch.

 

Back at the Palace, the library was silent that and Levy hummed to herself as she worked. She pulled a book from one of the many shelves and placed it upon a pile that had been slowly growing for the past five minutes. It was her specialty to know what sort of books anyone may enjoy reading whenever they entered her domain. She had even made it her personal mission to find books for patron to read well before they placed a single finger on her carefully organized shelves. It was child's play to pick books out, especially for the Princess of Fiore- her current patron she was pulling for. Thinking of her new friend, the librarian smiled softly.

 

Who knew the Princess would have been so easy to talk to? Let alone in a bar. Levy was now determined to find some new books for Lucy to read, now that she knew her a little better. It was her habit to find books for the princess to read long before she ever entered the Library, giving Levy time to shut herself in her study, alone with her own tomes. Today, however, she wanted to at least greet her friend before locking herself away for the rest of the day.

 

Once she had placed the gathered books by Lucy's favorite chair, Levy sat herself nearby and watched the maids cleaning the floors and decorations. With a grin of satisfaction, she noted they stared far away from the actual shelves. They had learned long ago that Levy wouldn't let another soul touch them lest her categorization be destroyed. She sighed, happy, and couldn't see her day getting much better than this.

 

So it came as a shock to her when the Princess finally did come, dressed for a day of horseback riding, hair disheveled and dark circles under her eyes. She abruptly stood to meet the tired blonde halfway across the room. Something clearly wasn't right. “You look like you've seen better days, Lucy- ah, I mean, your highness,” she inwardly grimaced. It was going to take some time before she got used to switching her tone when in the public eye.

 

Lucy waved her off with a tired grin that didn't reach her eyes.”No, you're fine, Levy. You can call me by name anytime. Father's not here, remember?”

 

Nodding, Levy scrutinized Lucy's exhausted face and frowned, “Well, that's all well and good, but that doesn't tell me why you look like someone kicked your puppy. Did something happen?”

 

The blonde's body stiffened and Lucy looked behind Levy towards the pile of books that had been left to her. “Yes, you could say that. Looks like you got me another big group of books to read. You're pretty amazing, Levy.” Even her voice sounded hollow compared to normal. She walked around the concerned librarian to peruse the titles, but even her compliment couldn't dissuade Levy from speculating.

 

“Did... Natsu do something?”

 

The Princess stiffened and her sad smile turned to an angry grimace. _Hit the nail on the head_ , Levy mentally cheered at her intuition, but the frown stayed firmly in place. “What did he do?”

 

Instead of an answer, the Princess spun herself around and took Levy's hands, a determined look in her eye. “Can you take me to Fairy Tail tonight? You wont be busy, will you?”

 

Levy blinked, taken aback, “Well, no, but Jet and Droy wont be there. They're on patrol tonight. Shouldn't Natsu be the one tak-”

 

“Natsu can go bathe in his own flames for all I care!” Lucy interrupted before she clamped her mouth shut and her cheeks went pink. A few maids glanced over from the outburst before they began whispering quietly amongst themselves.

 

Understanding dawned on her and Levy shook her head. Obviously something had happened, but she wasn't going to get anywhere with Lucy until she got her in a less populated area of the Palace. Patting her shoulder, the librarian nodded to the back rooms. “Let's go to my study- we'll talk more there, okay? You can tell me why you're so upset.”

 

Relief shown in Lucy's eyes and she relaxed, “... yeah, okay.”

 

Lucy appreciated the Librarian's need to talk with her and she was more than happy to follow. She just didn't know how to explain her feelings. As much as she had grown to like Levy once they met at Fairy Tail, they still weren't the best of friends. Not yet. So how was she supposed to explain to her that her actual best friend had treated her the one way she had never wished to be treated: like a spoiled princess.

 

Should she tell her? Lucy was unsure. She felt she could trust the script-mage, that was no question. She had been friends with Natsu for so long...it almost felt as if it should have been a private matter between her and him. For a moment, she considered trying to talk with him again before she shook her head and frowned once more. No, she would not talk with him. Not now. Not yet. She'd have him crawling on his knees first, the jerk! With this new thought in mind, Lucy steeled herself to explain her woes to Levy and hoped the girl would be more than willing to take her to Fairy Tail without him as an escort.

 

She didn't need his permission to go there anyway.

 

The sun was high in the training grounds and targets were covered in scorch marks. Debris littered the ground. With a furious kick at a nearby practice dummy, Natsu set another straw man alight. His eyes were narrowed as he surveyed the area and instead of looking at the destruction in pride, he just wanted another dummy to punch. The small amount of trainees on the grounds sat on the sidelines, watching in fascination as he took out his fury on the training equipment. He was just about to find a less damaged target to mess with when he was finally interrupted by the captain of guard herself.

 

She had left the barracks just as many of the new recruits had ran back in out of fear of being caught in Natsu's path. With hands on her hips and a stern glare, she blocked his path. “I wont let you destroy every practice dummy we have, Natsu. If you need to release stress, then find yourself a sparring partner!”

 

He barely reacted to her words, which was concerning. No one ever ignored Captain Erza. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, “or shall I find you someone to wear you out?”

 

In response, Natsu's eyes surveyed the remaining recruits as he responded gruffly, “Everyone here can be taken out easily- are you offering to fight me?” Her quiet stare seemed to rile him more as flames lit up around his hands. “Come on, show me what you got, Erza!”

 

With glittering eyes and a determined set to her chin, the woman known as the most terrifying mage of the corps, unsheathed her sword. “Very well, if that is what you wish.” With assured steps towards the irritable fire-mage, the small amount of spectators in the area quickly moved further away. Even Natsu seemed to finally realize what he'd gotten into and gulped. That was enough to make him back down, though and he quickly rallied.

 

This would be perfect the perfect distraction, he thought. It was his last one before she struck with speed that left him shouting out in a not-so-manly fashion.

 

Hidden in the shadow of the barracks, Gray Fullbuster, Natsu's usual sparring partner, winced. “He's obviously insane if he's willingly challenging that monster when she's wide awake.” He glanced to the castle and smirked to himself, “what a moron...”

 

It took all but five minutes before Erza was witnessed walking back to the Palace without even a second look back to the training grounds. The wind blew her long, red hair and there was a saunter in her step that spoke of victory. “I expect the grounds to be cleaned before you leave, Natsu!” She ordered as a parting shot.

 

Left behind her was a bedraggled Natsu face first in the dirt and holding back whimpers that would rival a child. Spitting dust from his mouth, he pushed himself up, uncaring towards the state of his once clean clothes and brushed pebbles from his dusty hair. He flinched from a sharp pain in his chest and coughed madly before he finally regained his bearings.

 

Challenging Erza was definitely not a good idea today. He could barely keep focus on anything with the way his mind was working. Glancing up to the spectators, he was surprised to see that the paltry few who had been there had left, leaving him alone in the yard. It only served to increase the pain in his chest.

 

“Damnit... I was trying to distract myself from feeling like a jerk.” He grumbled before setting about cleaning his mess. He didn't much feel like incurring her wrath once again and wanted to leave as soon as possible. The grounds was beginning to feel too suffocating for him. With eyes downcast, he dragged what was left of the nearby targets and practice dummies off to the side and sighed loudly.

 

Lucy hadn't spoken to him for days now. She'd even locked her balcony door and placed a completely different guard on her bedroom! Normally she complained about other guards watching over her asides from him, but now she had actually ordered it! He couldn't accept it. It burned him from the inside out for more reasons than he could even explain, but the silent treatment was really starting to beat down on his self-confidence. He couldn't even get near her to apologize, and Natsu desperately wanted to. He hated when she was upset, especially when it was his fault.

 

Just what was he going to do to get her to listen? What could he even say for that matter that didn't say too much? It made him want to tear his own hair out! Growling in frustration, the fire mage tossed another dummy to the side with a little too much force and yelped when a stray board came bouncing back into him. Before he could knock it back, a rush of power flowed through him and caught the offending item in angry flames, turning it to ashes in an instant. It was so sudden that even he was shocked.

 

Natsu blinked. That... wasn't supposed to happen. Was his guilt making him lose control over his magic?

 

“Uh oh...” Staring at his hands in concern, he was just about to test his theory when the sound of hushed whispers and light giggling reached his ears. His back straitened and her perked up instantly. Was that Lucy? He looked to the grounds beyond, eying the path that lead to the outskirts of the Castle garden's and his nostrils flared as a familiar scent struck him. Walking along the path was the very Princess he couldn't speak to, giggling softly and muttering things to Levy.

 

He would have been shocked to see the girl mage outside of her library during the day, but he couldn't focus his attention on that right now. Instead, his eyes trailed them as they walked, noting the uplift of Lucy's eyebrows, the turn of her lips and the somewhat, brighter glow surrounding her. Was she feeling better? Feeling relieved, Natsu began to walk in their direction before he could even think about it.

 

Natsu hadn't even reached halfway across the yard before both girls stiffened and looked his way. He froze in his tracks the moment their demeanor changed so that he could almost feel a cold wind blowing from their eyes. He understood that look well and even Levy was barring her fangs at him: figuratively. Watching from his position, they began their walk once again, though the brightness of their conversation was horribly diminished.

 

He felt himself deflate all over again. Once he had said the wrong thing- by far the worst thing he could have ever decide to say at that point in time- and he had been replaced by another mage. Clenching his fists tightly, he snarled and turned to resume the chore he had been given.

 

Maybe Mirajane would have an idea what he could do. With a new resolve, he decided he would have to make a visit to Fairy Tail: without Lucy.

 

When night had fallen, the Palace seemed peaceful with the stars blinking down over its heights. The wind was light and the City quiet. Through the brush and past the palace walls, two figures snuck out to the streets of the city quietly. Following Levy's lead had been easy enough and with less wall climbing compared to when Natsu would sneak her. The guard had been lax for days making it very simple and after Lucy had explained her argument with her bodyguard, Levy was more than happy to lend her a hand.

 

“That doesn't sound like Natsu,” She had said, “I can't believe he'd be such a jerk! Don't worry Lucy, I'll get you to Fairy Tail tonight. That'll show him!”

 

She couldn't have been more grateful for her new friend as she had ever been at that moment. It was nice to know that someone was on your side. So they prepared for the night, spending most of their time that day dodging Artor and whispering amongst themselves. Lucy had only a moment considered rethinking her plan when she had laid eyes on her body guard that day.

 

Anger was still the prevalent emotion she felt, but the moment she saw him walking from the training grounds towards her, she had felt her stomach clench and everything inside of her wanted to join him and see what he had to say. Something in his eyes almost broke her will, but she couldn't place her fingers on. Levy stiffening beside her had reoriented her senses enough to turn away from him. She wasn't ready to talk with him. Not yet.

 

Perhaps she was over reacting? She considered this, but shoved the thought away in favor of Levy's plan for sneaking out. If she was, she'd apologize later, but not before he did the same.

 

As the rest of the day passed, her excitement grew until it was palpable. She had already decided to let those at the bar see her keys for once. They all knew she studied magic, but not a single person- asides from her Mother and Natsu- had ever seen her use it. With her keys tied attached to her hip, she was ready to share her celestial magic with the others. There mere thought made her smile brighten.

 

“Okay, we should be able to relax now that we're outside the grounds.” Levy's words pulled her from her thoughts and the Princess nodded with a grin. “I swear, I never thought I'd be sneaking the Princess out of the castle, I'm going to have so much fun telling Jet and Droy about this tomorrow!”

 

“Oh is that when they're off? I barely met them when I was last there.” Lucy grinned teasingly, “They seemed more interested in you than me, after all.”

 

Levy waved her off, hardly catching the tone the princess had been using, “Oh, they're just shy! They probably didn't know what to do with you there and just focused on me instead! They'd never admit it though.”

 

“Uh huh, sure.” Lucy wasn't sure she believed that, but pressed no further. “You think everyone will want to see my Spirits?”

 

Waving her hand, Levy laughed, “are you serious? Of course they will! There's a lot of mages here, as you already know, but we've never actually met someone who can summon a spirit from keys. I think it would be great to see them! What spirits do you have again?”

 

“Well.. I have Crux, the Southern Cross...” Lucy began ticking them off on her fingers, “and there's Horologium... those are silver keys. I hear they're easy to get if you go to magic stores in other towns. Oh and then I have some gold Key's my Mother gave me...”

 

As she was talking, Lucy caught the sounds of gears grinding in the nearby alley, but before she could bring it up, Levy's shout interrupted her, “Lucy, look out!” With surprising nimbleness, Levy grabbed Lucy's shoulders and tackled her to the ground as the sound gave off a high pitched squeal and a shot rang out. Netting flew over their heads and the girls quickly scrambled back to their feet.

 

Confused and out of breath from the surprise, Lucy pulled out a Golden Key and glanced around the area and felt her pulse sky rocket. From the shadows of the surrounding alleys, a group of men covered the streets, all with weapons in their hand. Another, much taller than the others and far wider, walked out of the area they had just passed, pushing forth what looked to be a turret, sprung backwards with netting fit inside of it. Lucy had never seen anything like it, but assume it was what had been used to fire at her.

 

“What's going on?” She asked, voice wavering. “Who are you? Answer me!”

 

“This is not good,” she heard Levy mutter behind her.

 

The tall man pulled down the hood of his cloak and revealed a balding head covered in tattoos. Grinning at her, he mockingly bowed to the princess and spoke. “Princess Lucy of Fiore. How good of you to make this easy on us. Could you make it simpler by coming with us or should we use more force?”

 

Stepping back to back with Levy, the princess' glare increased. “What do you want with me?”

 

“Lucy, we're surrounded here- I can probably distract them, but we need to get help.” Levy's quick whisper sent chills down Lucy's spine as she realized how hopeless the situation was. The men laughed, amused by them and she ground her teeth together.

 

“No, I don't care what you want with me, the answer is still no.”

 

That seemed to amuse them further as he aimed the mechanism at her once again. “Have it your way, princess.”

 

The gears squealed once again as Lucy and Levy dove in opposite directions, dodging the next shot- which was a giant net scattering to cover them. She felt her knees scrape along the cobbled stones and hissed in pain, but had no time to check on Levy. The men closest to her moved forward to grab her and she shrieked. “Stay back! Open, gate of the golden bull!” Her key glowed in hand and smoke covered their eyes while a loud roar filled the air.

 

“Taurus!” Lucy cried, hands shaking as the form of a giant bull, giant in comparison, rose from the smoke with a giant battle ax in hand. She barely heard Levy's voice, summoning fourth a script of fire above her head as she attacked the machine that shot at them. Lucy couldn't afford to focus on that now. She had to focus on the men in front of her who seemed to have mixed reactions about her summoning.

 

“No one said she was a mage too!”

 

Swinging his great ax, Taurus slammed the ground, causing it to crumble beneath the feet of many. “So nice to see you again, Miss Lucy! Shall I get a smooch for saving you?”

 

Brushing aside his words, she shouted, “Just take them out for me!”

 

“You got it!”

 

For a brief moment, as he rushed forward once again, Lucy felt like they'd be safe. Perhaps she could do this on her own. She wasn't that helpless after all, but a shriek from behind caused her to finally turn as the blood drained from her face.

 

Knocked to the ground with blood gushing from the side of her face, was Levy as one of the men shoved her aside with a bent club in hand. The area was scorched from whatever magic Levy had summoned, but she had clearly been overwhelmed. “Let her go!” She demanded, staring the biggest man down, whom she assumed was the leader.

 

“Gladly, if you come quietly.” He answered back, placing a foot on Levy's back. “I promise to be gentle. We were ordered not to harm you after all. Not yet anyway.” Lucy's eyes widened. They were ordered? By who? Just what was going on? “Call off that bull or I make this girl lose more than just her senses!”

 

Frozen in place, Lucy thought about her options, briefly hearing Taurus shout that he could handle and to not listen to him, but the constriction on her heart said other wise. Already the magic was draining her and she knew she couldn't keep him out for much longer. Especially if Levy was hurt in the process. Grasping the amulet around her neck, she considered her last resort: breaking the amulet to summon Natsu. Would he be close enough? Would he come?

 

Why didn't she go with him?

 

Grasping the chain around her neck, she ordered,”Taurus, close the gate!” With a protest being cut off by him disappearing back to the realm he came from, Lucy walked towards the man. “Don't hurt Levy and I will go with you.” She had to keep them occupied. They couldn't see her breaking the chain. She had to stay calm. She had to-

 

Her thoughts were cut short when Levy's eyes snapped open and she shouted, “Lucy, behind you!”

 

The princess had no time to react when one of her assailants grasped her chain from behind, yanking her back and clenching her neck. With a gasp of pain he held her close so that his breath fanned her face and made her eyes roll from the stink of it. “Don't think we don't know what happens when you break that chain, Princess. You summon your body guard and we may forget to keep you unscathed- go it?”


	9. The Unbroken Amulet

The amulet was in tact. It was unbroken as it strained against Lucy's neck. The man behind her held it fast, tangling its chain between his fingers until it dug into her skin, constricting her. With a gasp and arms dropping at her sides, she finally felt despair in the pit of her stomach.

 

She couldn't summon Natsu. She and Levy were alone. “What was that, Princess? I don't think we heard you.”

 

“I said I'll go with you!” She gasped out when the chain was tightened once more. Levy cried to her in the background, yelling at her to deny her claim, but Lucy couldn't hear her. The blood pounding in her ears took her senses away and she gasped again.

 

“Hey boss, it looks like she's given up!” He jeered behind her as the group around them laughed. Their voices echoed, across the street, but it seemed that either no one was home, or they were too afraid to look outside.

 

Her eyes stared at their boss, the large man with his net contraption. With smug satisfaction, he held Levy down against her will and smiled at his men. “We're not done yet. We still have to get her out of the Sorciere's territory before they figure we're on their turf. Tie her up and lets go!”

 

It was quick work and she wanted to struggle dearly, but the cold look in the man's eyes as he held Levy down kept her from moving. She had only just become friends with the Librarian! She couldn't risk her life by acting out! As Lucy's hands were bound in rope and her keys tossed aside, the Princess lowered her head in shame. Was she truly so useless? With gritted teeth, she bit back tears.

 

“That's it girly. You stay quiet and we'll have you in Bosco in no time.” Wait, they were taking her to Bosco? Why, that was one of the neighboring Kingdoms...

 

“Idiot! Don't say our destination out loud! We've still got this other girl here!”

 

“Sorry boss!” The man holding Lucy cringed and nodded his head toward the blue-haired girl on the ground. “What should we do then?”

 

The balding boss shook his head in fury and nudged the smaller girl with his foot. Levy in turn, grunted, but cast her eyes upon the group in fury. She was far from giving up. This was a relief to Lucy. “We could always kill her.” Panic crossed both their faces at this and Lucy quickly stamped her foot, lodging the heel of her shoe into the man behind her. Feeling his grip loosen as he howled in pain, she dashed forward. Clenching her eyes shut, she struck with a cry of anger.

 

“Don't you harm her!” Echoed out as Lucy threw herself into the larger man's side, sending him stumbling off the bluenette so she could place herself between them. “I said I would go with you if you didn't harm her! Don't think I wont scream and kick my way to hell if you do anything!”

 

Staring at her in annoyed surprise, the boss spat and glowered. “You do that, again, princess, and I'll forget you're to arrive unharmed.”

 

“Don't hurt Levy and I wont do it.” Lucy said firmly, voice steely.

 

Staring her down, the man grunted a curse and waved his arms to his men. “Gag 'em both! We'll just drop two girls off and charge our client double!”

 

The men relented to his orders and quickly pulled the Librarian to her feet, who was staring at Lucy in both awe and exasperation. “You didn't have to do that Lucy, I would have been fi-!” her voice was cut off as a dirty cloth was quickly stuffed against her lips and tied tightly around her. When a similar cloth was placed around Lucy, she almost gagged from the smell alone and promptly held her mouth tightly to ensue she didn't get the taste of it on her tongue. It smelled of sweat and horse dung and she refused to think about what it could have been used for.

 

As they held the girls close and began to force them down the street in silence, Lucy felt Levy nudge her light enough that she almost didn't realize it was on purpose. Looking to her friend, she noticed her eyes looking upward and looked herself. Darting over the rooftops, she noticed a small figure with wings ducking out of sight.

 

_Was that Happy?_ She thought with a surge of hope before it crashed down again into confusion.  _No.. that tail looked black... still.. Levy noticed it so maybe... just maybe he's getting help?_

 

It was a small thing to hope for when she couldn't confirm her suspicions with Levy, but it was something.

 

Fairy Tail was bustling that night. It seemed that many of the mages during the King's absence felt it a perfect night to goof off. Raucous laughter filled the tavern and the smell of smoke and ale was heavy. The night was still early for most of them, but already a few friendly fights had broken out and thankfully, had ended with only a few chairs broken. Mirajane expected far more to be demolished by the end of the night however and was more than ready to handle her rowdy customers.

 

All,but one. The barkeeper was at a loss for what to do with the Fire-Mage that had his face planted on the counter. He had come hours ago, telling her needed advice, but since then, he'd merely smacked his nose to the wood and hadn't said a word since. He barely even reacted when she offered him a drink. When she had tried to serve him food instead, he quietly denied it. That had left the white-haired woman stumped. Since when did Natsu Dragneel refuse food?

 

Mirajane had filled quite a few orders for the other occupants before she had decided to prod him further. By the time she had a lull in her work, he had grown tense and on and off, his fingers would twitch. “So... did something happen?”

 

Her voice was quiet, but when he somehow managed to tense even further, she knew he had heard her. “What gives you that idea?” He mumbled.

 

“Well, you're having an intimate relationship with my counter, for one.” She said airily, trying to soften the mood. For a moment, she thought she caught the sounds of laughter, but was sad to see it was merely a grunt as he finally lifted his eyes to look at her.

 

“What's that supposed to mean?” He questioned, voice hollow, but there was something else there that Mirajane couldn't quite pin point. It was almost... anxious?

 

“Nevermind,” she laughed before tilting her head to look at him easier. “How about we talk about that advice you said you needed?” When he twitched again, so much so that he nearly hopped of the chair, Mirajane's concentration went out the window. “Natsu, is something wrong?”

 

Reacquainting himself with his seat once more, Natsu's concerned face looked up at her. He was definitely agitated. “Not.. sure,” he admitted. “I'm just all antsy like something's about to happen.. or is.” Before she could ask him to clarify he waved her off, “anyway.. can we forget I asked for advice? I think it might be better if I just...” His voice trailed off as his face suddenly lost it's color.

 

“...Natsu?” The boy didn't respond to her and Mirajane frowned. His entire body bunched up like a spring and his dark irises seem to get brighter as the pupils turned to slits. Grabbing his shoulders to get his attention, Mirajane spoke quietly, “What's wrong with you Natsu? Should I get Gray or Elfman to fight you or something? Is that what you need?”

 

He didn't react to her and his muscles seemed to ripple while a low growl suddenly escaped his throat. It was feral and left the barkeeper wondering if she would need to dump water on his head again. If it came to that, she would need to drag him back to the kitchens before anyone questioned it, but could she if he was heating up too much? Oh, she wished Happy was here! He'd at least have an idea of what to do. For now, she watched as the magical energy in Natsu's body seemed to fluctuate before she finally ventured to ask, “is something wrong with Lucy?”

 

As if she had broken a dam. At the Princess' very name, the fire-mage convulsed, shooting himself from his seat and glancing about wildly with eyes slitted and a far more dangerous snarl escaped him. With a hiss, he gave Mirajane an apologetic nod and muttered a quick, “I've gotta go!” before he rushed out the doors, knocking over many in his wake. Too stunned to speak, Mirajane waved him out with a confused stare. Just what was going on?

 

It was wrong. Everything was wrong. Heat pounded in his blood and Natsu's legs moved him without him truly seeing where he was going. He could just sense something was wrong. It had been building up within him ever since the sun had set. What had once been a plan to get advice for making Lucy forgive him had soon turned to ignoring a deep urgency that had sprouted from within, leaving him almost breathless. It struck his heart and lungs like a knife and had kept him on edge the entire time he had been struggling with thoughts on how to speak with Mirajane.

 

He had to change his mind to speak with her. Natsu had concluded this when the feeling increased to a pit of tangled feelings in his gut. At first, he couldn't figure out what it was, but it left his senses on high alert and the canines in his mouth seemed that much sharper. With eyes seeing farther ahead than he normally paid attention to, it had finally struck him as if the entire roof had caved in on his head.

 

_Lucy's in danger..._

 

With a snarl of anger,he had left, uncaring that he would probably hear it from Mirajane later for worrying her. He could deal with that later. No, Natsu could feel it, Lucy needed him and he was going to get to her. It barely registered when he turned south, away from the castle and he only took enough notice to hiss again, cursing as he went. Of course she had left the castle! Why hadn't he thought of that earlier today? With how he had blundered,it should have been obvious that the rebellious Princess would have tried to go to Fairy Tail without him and now she-

 

“Dammit, you're so stupid!” He growled out, either to himself or to Lucy, he wasn't sure.

 

 

 

She had been shoved from behind, but when Lucy's face met the dirt near the town wall, all she heard was laughter and jeers about her lack of balance. _Jerks..._ grimacing, the blonde scrambled to right herself even with her hands bound and felt more than saw Levy standing beside her defiantly. It had been a slow walk through the city with the men toying with them like sacks of potatoes. Her knees were skint and bloody and the riding pants she had worn that day were stained beyond fixing. The librarian didn't look much better.

 

“Come on, stand up!” Clenching her teeth tightly to keep from opening her mouth with the gag still in place, Lucy was pulled by her hair to stand again and tears sprung at her eyes. Being pushed forward once again,they continued their walk and Lucy's eyes watched the City gates with a fear in them she hadn't known before.

 

Those gates had always held some semblance of adventure to them. She had never walked passed them without an escort before, but they had always looked like something she'd love to get lost in. Now she was terrified of what it meant for her and Levy to walk through those gates.

 

The rough men seemed unable to keep quiet, but they never said enough for her to know just what they had planned. “They're waiting for us in the woods...” Some of them would say before being hushed and they continued to talk of Bosco. Just what did they have to do with that neighboring country? She was certain her Father had mentioned them recently. The parties he had planned during the summer.. yes! They were to be visiting with... she held back a shudder at the memory of suitors and bit her lip. Were they connected?

 

In a sudden rush, the men started to move faster, coming up to the gates as they loomed overhead. It gave her a terrible sense or foreboding. As if it would be too late to escape the moment she stepped foot out of the city. There was a thundering in the distance, a break in the air and Lucy wondered if it was going to storm soon despite the lack of cloud cover.

 

“Hurry up and get us out of here!” One of the men griped. The thundering grew louder like a roar slowly rising to its zenith, but the men paid it no mind, passing through the gate with their spirits high. Just as they were dragging Lucy and Levy to the gate, the thundering stopped and the princess realized there was something.. quite unnatural about it.

 

As they took another step forward, everything happened at once. The thunder roared into a loud roar and a flash of red, brilliant flames descended to the ground in front of them like lightning. It crashed to the ground, sending debris in the air and many of the men fell back into the walls of the gates, out cold when they landed. Lucy felt the heat awash her face, sending her hair flying and eyes clenching shut. Momentarily blinded, the surprised shouts of pain from the men made her heart pound rather than ease her worries and she felt her and Levy being pulled back by the men who led them.

 

When the smoke cleared and the heat died down, what was left in the center of their circle was broken cobblestones and fire licking down the skin of a very angry fire mage.

 

In surprise, Lucy almost called out to him, remembering the gag only moments before. Relief was in Levy's shoulders, but the few men who were still awake stared in shock as the rest of the area settled, and their leader was none too happy. “Who broke the amulet!”He snarled, twisting Lucy in his arms. “You bitch, how did you even-” his words died in his throat when av vicious snarl rent the area sending chills tingling through even Lucy's skin. Gasping, the man dropped the untouched amulet back to her neck and stepped away.”There....there's no damn way...”

 

“Hey you...” even the voice sounded like a growl. Lucy's breath caught in her throat as Natsu walked behind her, feet hitting the ground like a beast stalking its prey. “if you think you're getting any farther with, Lucy, then you better be ready to get burned to ashes.” Was this.. was this Natsu? She tilted her head, but was shoved aside instead, stumbling back to her knees and grunting in annoyance. Could they give the whole shoving her down thing a rest already?!

 

With more arrogance than he was probably feeling, the group's leader chuckled. “I should have figured you'd have other ways to keep in contact with the whore. You'll have to excuse me, but she's coming with us weather you like it or not.”

 

The angry guard tilted his head, teeth glinting in the moonlight, “Is that so?”

 

Gulping, the man forced out his own threat, “That's right. Now move aside boy, before the rest of my men take you out!”

 

Flames burst around his arms at that instead as he raised them, “If they want to try, then give it your best shot. I already knocked out over half these idiots with one shot, I bet I can do it again.” Casting his eyes towards Levy, he growled out, “Oye! Get over to Lucy so I don't burn you too!”

 

Not needing to be told twice, Levy rushed to Lucy's side and began twisting her arms to break the bonds they were in. It seemed Natsu was the perfect opening she needed and the script-mage was more than willing to set to work now that the rest were distracted. As she worked, Lucy watched, eyes spell bound as the rest of the men moved to attack, only to stand back as flames surrounded the area once more. Their shouts of pain came in short bursts and without even having to move from his spot, Natsu sent them all back, refusing to advance any further.

 

“Is that it big guy? Looks like it's just you and me, after all.” Smiling dangerously, her advanced on their balding leader and growled, “I'll make you pay for ever laying a hand on Lucy!”

 

It was faster than she could have comprehended. At some point, Levy had broken her bonds and started on hers, but Natsu sprung from his position with such ferocity that she barely had time to notice when he'd punched the leader square in the jaw, sending him smashing to the ground in a heap. He cried out in pain, rolled along the ground and moved away from Natsu as a child crawls away in fear. The fire-mage kept advancing, leaving an indention of burnt footprints in the ground as he walked. Wasn't done with this leader yet and Lucy almost felt sorry for him.

 

That was before he screamed out with a crazed laughed, “DO IT NOW!” A shot rang out from the contraption he had used to shoot nets from the gates. Where a man covered in soot and rocks held it in his arms,grinning maniacally. What came forth was not a net, as they would have expected, but a beam of magic energy, green and orange, spiraling like a needle through the air and it struck Natsu in the back, forcing him down ward with a roar of pain. It made her ears ring, and as he fell to his knees, Levy finally ripped the gag from Lucy's face and she shrieked.

 

“NATSU!”

 

Everything moved in slow motion. Her body guard fell with a snarl on his face, holding himself with quivering arms even as blood stained the back of his shirt. Laughing in partial relief, the balding man pushed himself back to his feet, kicking at the downed fire-mage and stumbled back towards the girls. Clawing free of Levy's grasp, Lucy scrambled to move towards the mage, eyes wide and her throat raw. With surprising force, Levy grabbed her and pulled her back.

 

“Wait. Just wait Lucy!”She was saying over and over. The Princess could hardly hear her and recognized there was something in her voice she should have caught, but was too preoccupied with her best friend on his knees to catch it.

 

Grunting, the leader laughed once again and looked in their direction. “Gotta get you out of here before he finds a way to move again. I'm not dealing with anymore interruptions!” Moving towards him, he stumbled when Natsu grasped his ankle, securing him in place, still growling low in his throat. “Let go of me!”

 

“Leave Natsu alone!” Lucy yelled out, angered when he raised his foot to kick him again.

 

His foot never landed as a steel beam suddenly came from the rooftops, striking him across the head and sending him flying to the ground. It was as sudden as Natsu' initial attack had been and it made Lucy pause in her tracks. What..what was that?

 

Levy's body was shaking beside her, but the girl laughed in relief and held her by the shoulders. “I. .I was trying to tell you that someone else was coming. I .. I saw his cat, earlier. We'll be okay now.”

 

His cat? Whose cat? Lucy recalled the black cat she had seen flying earlier and her mind reeled. So that really had been another exceed.. so... she didn't have a chance to finish her thoughts as a rugged man of wild hair and metal studs on his face stepped out of the shadows, grasping the now, out-cold leader by his shirt and flung him away. His cold eyes stared at the scene before him and her smirked.

 

“You need to pay more attention, Salamander.” He grumbled, glancing to the fire-mage at his feet.

 

With a cough and another growl, Natsu responded back with narrowed eyes that looked just as angered as before. “You're supposed to keep guys like this out of the city, metal head. How did you screw up so badly?”

 

“Shut up, I just finished taking out the rest of their group outside the walls. This was a smaller group Lily found out about earlier. Now go to sleep already before I knock you out myself!”

 

Springing to her feet, despite Levy trying to pull her back again, Lucy rushed forward and grabbed Natsu by his shoulders. “Don't you touch him!” She ordered, staring at this new man in anger.”Just who do you think you are?”

 

Grunting, the man looked away and shrugged. “Calm down Princess, I'm on your side. For now.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean-”

 

Levy interrupted her.”He's Gajeel Redfox. King Jude has him patrolling the woods.”

 

Eyeing the small girl quietly, he revealed sharp fangs in his smirk. “At least one of ya' is smart.” Ignoring her and Levy's outraged sputters, he nudged the wounded fire-mage one more time and ushered around the area. “Now stop talking and get this moron outta here. Lily and I need to clean this mess up.” At the mention of Lily, the black cat Lucy had seen before flew down beside him, frowning,but much calmer than the rest.

 

“Now's not the time to antagonize them, Gajeel. If you want, I can bunch these men up myself while you take Natsu to Porylusica.”

 

At the mention of the castles old Doctor, Lucy felt a wave of horror as she ran her hands along the wound that burned itself into the back of her bodyguard. “He's lost a lot of blood. We may need to take him to a doctor nearby first before he...” she was surprised by Natsu suddenly grabbing her hand, grip strong despite his pain.

 

“No.. if I'm seeing anyone it's gotta be Porylusica.” He groaned out, eyes glaring at Gajeel. “I owe you for this. Dammit I hate owing you stuff!”

 

Smirking, Gajeel grabbed the fire-mage and flug him up over his shoulders. “What, you think I like saving your sorry ass? In you're dreams.” Glaring towards Lucy and Levy he grimaced. “Come on, I'm not sticking with you any longer than I have to and the sooner this idiots not bleeding all over the place, the sooner I can get out of here. Now move!”

 

Despite the many questions and worry surging through her, Lucy nodded her head. She didn't know who this man was, but Levy seemed to know a little. If he patrolled the forests then he was a member of the mage corps, that meant she could trust him. Watching Natsu from his back left a bitter taste in her mouth and she quietly followed, hoping this was the end of her troubles. Somehow, a part of her doubted it, but still she kept hoping.

 

The night stayed silent and the stars continued to glitter beautifully, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to notice anymore.


	10. A Promise Kept

Sterile air filled the room coupled with the sounds of light breathing. There were a few beds in the small infirmary, used for those not requiring just a brief visit from the Castle Doctor. Most of these beds were empty and covered in sanitized sheets that looked stiff. The furthest bed from the door, however, had two residents resting in peace.

 

The sheets were halfway off the bed, covering the lap of the princess who quietly draped herself over the edge of the mattress, fingers twitching in her sleep. It had been late when Gajeel had finally deposited Natsu onto the very mattress she leaned against now and no amount of pleading from Levy or demands from the Mage Doctor could force her to leave to the comforts of her own room. Natsu, on the other hand, complained of being treated like a weakling the entire time up until he, by force, fed pain reducers that had knocked him unconscious.

If Lucy had been awake, she would have been more than surprised by his quiet demeanor in comparison to the usual snores that escaped him when he slept in her bed. It was comfortable, even if his eyebrows creased every now and then from one random spasm of pain or another. He slept on, with a hand firmly grasped in Lucy's fingers.

Wendy Marvel, assistant to Porylusica, found the scene unbearably adorable.

"Stop staring at them, Child!" From the window sill, a white cat with a bow on her tail and a severe expression on her face stared at the tiny, blue-haired assistant in exasperation. "They're not a show for your entertainment and you have your chores to finish before Porylusica returns with lunch."

Flushing from the reprimand, Wendy bowed her head for a moment and squeaked. "I know, I know, you're right, but... I haven't seen Natsu in a while. It's nice to see him so comfortable." With fingers grasped tightly to a broom, she resumed her duties and began to sweep under the beds. "I also haven't ever been this close to the Princess before either. She's different than I imagined."

"Well," The cat's expression softened and she shrugged, "Natsu has always said that she's not as noble was one would think she'd be. I can hardly imagine any other noble allowing themselves to sleep like that for their guard. I see it as no surprise that she'd be so uncivilized."

"Carla! Don't say that!" Staring at her friend now, Wendy paused in her work. "That's not nice, at all."

"Pay it no mind, Wendy." Was the exceeds answer. "We should be more quiet. If she wakes up to hear us talking, she may start to question us more."

The sweeping continued as the girl hummed her answer. It truly had been interesting to see them that morning. The sun wasn't even rising when she had been roused from her sleep, hearing Porylusica yell at the group that had walked in and demanding they toleave immediately. Once they had laid eyes on Natsu, that demeanor had changed and they set to work immediately. Gajeel had only stayed long enough to give some information about the injuries before he wandered out and Levy, in a mess of tired yawns of wobbly limbs,followed shortly after. Only Lucy had stayed behind, worried and unwilling to leave for reasons she kept to herself.

Carla had been pretending to be a stuffed doll at the time. Wendy knew that the Princess had already learned of Happy and – with Gajeel back from his patrol, – there was no way she hadn't noticed Pantherlily, but keeping Carla's sentience a secret was the best way to keep her in the castle. The King assumed she was a plaything for the assistant and they didn't have to be apart like Natsu and his blue friend were. Wendy felt bad tricking Lucy like that, but what choice did she have?

"Do you think Natsu will be okay?" She found herself asking after a moment, unaware of the exasperated look Carla gave her from behind.

"You're a healer, Wendy – shouldn't you know? Goodness, Child, you should have more faith in your abilities. Even Porylusica said you did your job well with him."

"You're right. I just worry –."

Both stilled when the Princess stirred in her sleep, groaning from the stiffness in her back as her eyes opened slowly. With practiced ease, Wendy resumed her chores as Carla froze her position by the window in the same pose she had been in the previous night. Her head slightly tilted to look loose and for those without trained eyes, she resembled merely a stuffed toy.

Groggily, Lucy raised her head, blinking wearily as she surveyed her environment. Her shoulder relaxed only after a few moments of confused staring – before the memories of the recent events hit her – and she placed her attention on the Fire Mage resting peacefully. "Are you okay, Natsu?"

Wondering if the girl didn't realize the boy couldn't possibly answer, Wendy opened her mouth to make her presence known, but immediately snapped it shut when the princess sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." She said while surveying his form a little longer as her eyes drifted to where the blankets had been tossed – across her legs –and she frowned. "Who moved the blankets?"

Wendy couldn't keep quiet then and interjected with a smile. "Natsu did. You were already falling asleep before the anesthetic could take effect on him. He tossed them to you before he finally gave in." Noticing the Princess jolt in surprise at the statement, the girl realized that Miss Lucy still wasn't aware of her being in the room. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought it was very cute."

"Cu– cute? Do– don't be silly, he's just being his normal, stupid self." Lucy responded, cheeks slightly red as she finally noticed her fingers curled around the fire mage's hand. Jerking her hand back with far more force than intended, the princess placed her focus on Wendy with a renewed need to change the subject. "Has he woken up at all?"

She shook her head, "Oh, no. Miss Porylusica doesn't think he'll be awake until later this afternoon, actually." Especially with the amount of pain killers we had to use to even affect him... She bit her lip to keep the thought to herself and switched her gaze to the next bed she would sweep under. "I would suggest going out and stretching your legs for a bit before she gets back. Porylusica doesn't like people staying in here for very long."

Lucy frowned, "Oh. but– I'd like to be here when he wakes up." Straightening her hair and the wrinkles out of her tunic, the Princess sighed. "There was– something I was wanting to talk to Natsu about..."

Wendy had to bring forth every ounce of control she had to keep herself from prodding for more information. "He'll be awake in the afternoon, your Highness. It would be fine if you came back to talk with him then." Trying to reassure her, Wendy added, "I'll even convince Porylusica to let you sleep in here again if you want! We could even bring one of the beds closer and perhaps get Lisanna to bring you your brush and–"

"Actually," Lucy interrupted, cheeks burning red, "I think I will head out for now... Artor is probably having a field day with me not being in my room."

Wendy answered before she could even consider the consequences. "Oh, he already knows."

"He what?!" The quiver in Lucy's voice gave all her worries away and Wendy immediately replied.

"I– I'm sorry!" She hesitated while trying to think of something to say quickly. "It's just that we knew what happened last night couldn't be kept a complete secret so we had– I mean– Levy decided... Err... Well..." Sagging her shoulders in defeat, the small apprentice finally said quietly, "We all decided to do damage control by telling the guards you were kidnapped out of your room and that Natsu was injuredchasing them down. Levy's handling the… Um – Paperwork."

"Levy is?" The princess relaxed a little right before she stood to stretch her limbs and gently moved the fallen sheet to cover Natsu.

"Well, we asked Gajeel too, but he's not one for paperwork..." Wendy answered. Lucy seemed to accept this and sighed.

"Well then… I guess I'll get proper clothes on and smooth things out with Artor." The Princess sounded almost defeated, exhausted by the idea of even speaking with the chancellor. "I will be back later, Wendy was it?"

"Oh, yes!" Wendy's excitement at her name being remembered was hard to miss while she bowed her head to the princess as the latter turned to leave the room. Preparing to finish her cleaning and continue her conversation with Carla, the girl jumped in surprise when Lucy spun around at the entrance with a curious look on her face.

"By the way, Wendy... Is that cat on the window sill really a doll?"

Licking her lips, Wendy tried her best to sound puzzled, "Yeah... Why do you ask?"

Giving a puzzled frown, the blonde shrugged, "No reason." After that, she left and Wendy sighed in relief.

"That scared me." She muttered to herself. "For a moment, I thought she knew Carla was real!" Wendy barely heard the cat's resounding reply and quickly shuffled about to finish her chores.

Something weird was going on. Lucy was certain of it. There were many things just tugging at her conscious, telling her there was something up. She couldn't specifically place each instance where she had felt this, but there had been plenty of times. Now, the top offender was the plethora of flying cats she was suddenly seeing.

She knew that wasn't a stuffed Doll in the ward. She may have just recently woken up, but Lucy was positive she had heard two voices speaking when she had finally entered the realm of the waking and – after meeting Happy and seeing the cat near the moody Gajeel (Pantherlily was it) –she just couldn't believe the girl kept a stuffed animal. Did the three of them have something in common? Lucy wasn't sure if the commonality was in the Exceed or in those who had them close by-the small apprentice, the border patrol, and her very own body guard.

The mere thought of Natsu sent her stomach plummeting into a deep well of guilt that almost made her feel sick. It was her fault he was wounded. It hadn't taken her long to realize that the fire mage must have had some clue about a possible kidnapping and that he'd only been trying to help her without getting her worried. Yet she had been insulted by his refusal to take her to Fairy Tail– had been hurt by his uncharacteristic words. Why couldn't she have only realized that something was going on and trusted him?

Turning a corner, barely even nodding to the maids she passed by, Lucy's thoughts fell upon another conundrum: the pendant that still hung from her neck, free of damage. She never had the chance to break it and still, Natsu had come. He had somehow known. How did he know? There were too many questions that she didn't have the answers to, and Lucy was determined to learn a few before her wounded body guard had any say in it.

So caught up in her thoughts, Lucy barely noticed when she strolled pass Artor who had been instructing a small group of guards in a hushed tone of voice. The sight of her in clothesunfittingfor her station and hair askew inevery and eachway gave him pause as he turned his attention to her.

"My Lady! You should not be around dressed like that!" He admonished, voice going into a high pitch from panic. "Your father should be returning any day now. Allow me to get you an escort to your rooms and I'll send Lisanna up to dress you properly!"

She stopped in her tracks and couldn't tell if the lump in her throat was panic or aggravation. "That won't be necessary Artor, I'll get proper attire on later. There are things that I need to take care of and I can't jus–"

"Princess! Just because you are the daughter of our King does notmean you can shut me down on this! I must insist you go to your room andchange!" His outraged sputters interrupted her. Motioning towards one of the taller guards he had been addressing, he ordered one to join her.

"Really Artor, I can get back to my room on my own–" Lucy tried to reason but the Chancellor was having none of it.

"Stop being so silly, Princess! I can't believe you'd act like this just because your father is gone. He's going to have a field day as it is once he learns what happened to Ser Dragneel.How am I supposed to explain that his daughter is also dressed in such a state?"

Her shoulders sagged as Lucy realized that she was not going to get out of this without running, but wouldn't that just make it worse? Considering her options, she prepared to dart off, likeshe had when younger, but paused when the familiar form of an iron studded man came up behind the irate Chancellor.

"Stop gettin' your knickers in a twist– ya' blow hard." Gajeel drawled as he came near, eyes squared on Lucy with an expression she could only describe as begrudging. "If you need an escort for the Princess, I'll take her."

"You?" Artor was flabbergasted. To be honest, so was Lucy. "As if it would be proper to let a mere patrol guard take the Princess back to her quarters."

The glare the stout man received left him withering in his robes. "Don't like it? Too bad. I'm watching her until Salama– Uh... Dragneel wakes up." If not for the sheer amount of shock attacking Lucy's mind, she would have laughed at the man's stumble. It was clear he wasn't used to having to speak properly. If at all. With that thought in mind she realized that was probably why he patrolled the border instead.

Being amused in her thoughts, she missed any parting words that may have come the Chancellor's way and squeaked when a rough hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her back down the hall. Gasping, she struggled to upright herself and followed, if only to escape the echoes of Artor left behind. When they turned the corner, he released his grip and began walking at a much faster pace, effectively leaving her.

"H– Hey! Wait just a second!" Lucy glared into the tall man's back as if to drill a hole into him and he merely grunted to acknowledge her.

"What more do you want, Princess?" He asked snidely, "I got you away from that moron, so go about your business and leave me to mine."

Aggravated, Lucy struggled to suppress her ire and instead asked, "I was going to look for Levy, have you seen her?"

“Know of any piles of books around here? The shorty's probably underneath them."

As true as that statement could have been, Lucy's glare didn't falter. "Fine, if you're not going to help,then I'll just ask you instead!"

The annoyed groan that came from the man was more than enough to tell Lucy what he thought of that and he sped up again. "What did you and that Exceed do to those men last night?"

The threatening growl that came from his mouth almost sent her to her knees. "His name's Lily, get it right!"

"So– Sorry..." Wait, why was she apologizing?

With hisred eyes narrowed, he glanced at her from the side and assessed her. Satisfied with whatever was on his mind, he continued in a low grumble. "Anyway, what we did to them is none of your business. They're taken care of and it ain't going to happen again."

“Did you kill them?" She asked seriously.

He faltered for a mere second. "What?" Rallying,he looked away. "I told you it's none of your business!"

Feeling as if she was talking to a wall, Lucy finally let out her own growl, though it wasn't nearly as impressive compared to his. "What is my business then?"

"Salamander." He grunted again before he finally stopped at a large set of doors. "Are we done now? I've got things to do."

With hands on her hips, Lucy steeled herself to at least get one answer out of this giant mule and she pursed her lips together. "One more question." She stated more than asked. A part of her wondered if the only way she was goingto get anywhere with this guy was to pull rank on him. Lucy really didn't enjoy the thought of doing that,however,and frowned. "Just answer one."

A part of her implored him to relent as she stared at him and the gruff man seemed content to stare back before his own frown grew impatient. "Well, out with it!"

Fingering the chain of her pendant whereit had sidled under the fabric of her shirt, Lucy's voice softened to give way to her confusion. "Natsu didn't know I was going to be with Levy last night. I heard enough to know that you were following those men and that you and Natsu know each other. Buthow did he figure out I was in danger and where to find me?"

The dubious stare he gave her in return made her feel as if she'd asked the most obvious question in the world. "What do they teach you nobles? To eat mercury?"

"Excuse me!"With wide eyes Lucy's mind began to consider the possible consequences of kicking him– hard.

"Don't look at me like that, Princess." Gajeel replied snidely. "What else didja think was going to happen when ya' broke your pendant: wild unicorns were going to shit rainbows at them?"

She opened her mouth to retort about the pendant, but he continued. "Or did Levy break it for ya? That pendant's supposed to have a spell in it that informs Natsu where you are when you're in danger. He's got his own right?"

"Yes he does, but-"

"Well, then there ya' go. Now leave me alone." His hand pressed on the door, causing it to creak under his weight as it slid open.

"It's not broken!" Lucy shouted, and she almost winced when she heard her voice bounce off the walls and possibly through the door too. Gajeel stopped moving, his back to her as he suddenly became very interested in the door handles.

"What... did you say?" He asked, finally really looking at her as if she was someone worthy of conversation. She wasted no time in pulling the chain from around her neck and displayed the very object in front of him. It's round orb glowed in the light revealing the magic sealed inside. The golden edges glinted and flecks of red could be seen where Lucy'sand Natsu's blood mingled to secure the bond each of their pendants held.

"Those men never gave me the chance to break it." She explained. "But Natsu– He... He somehow knew."

Gajeel went quiet. Not that he wasn't already, but this silence somehow felt more disconcerting. He bent down to get a closer look at the object, and Lucy swore she saw his nostrils flare before the pupils in his eyes dilated to mere slits. His body grew tense and a sudden pressure seemed to cover the hall. "That idiot! I can't believe he'd go that far just to– Shit!"

His voice was rushed and then came out in an instant of what Lucy could only describe as growls and hisses, but he caged her with a furious glare before she could ask him to explain what he had meant. "Don't tell anyone that it's intact, got it, girlie? Just tell anyone who asks that you got a new one made from Porylusica. She won't rat you out."

Nonplussed, Lucy pulled the pendant back and stuffed it under her shirt again. "What are you talking about–"

"Don't argue with me on this, dumb ass, just do it!" He barked before he swung the doors open and disappeared behind them. Stunned to silence from anger, and more confused than she knew how to handle, Lucy glanced to the bauble in wonder. Just what had that man seen to react that way? Weighing the pros and cons of following after him, Lucy chewed on her lip.

Something really was up and apparently, she really wasn't going to get any answers... At least,not yet. Deciding Gajeel had probably had enough for today and wasn't going to allow her to push him further, she decided to finally head to her room to freshen up, but one other thing was still on her mind:

...What important business did Gajeel have in the Library?

Changing into a dress that could keep Artor from complaining was simple enough, but the Chancellor did not fail on his threat to summon Lisanna. What was once just a mad dash to change clothes and rush out once more to find Levy, possibly hunt Gajeel down again and get food in her stomach, ended in a longer session of girl talk with Lisanna pressing the princess for details about the previous night. And what should have been a secret to everyone seemed to have spread across the castle like wildfire as Lisanna spared Lucy no details of the prisoners down in the dungeon.

Knowing that the men who attacked her and Levy the night before hadn't been killed was a minor comfort to Lucy– but it still left her anxious: she quietly hoped they had no way of escaping their cells35. After explaining to the handmaiden why their pink-haired friend was currently out cold in the Sick Ward, Lucy had finally left her rooms.

Getting lunch was far more easier than tracking down the book lover and the metal giant,she learned. It was both frustrating and confusing, but it affirmed her growing suspicions that she'd have to find the answers on her own. Lucy wasn't sure where to start, but she knew she'd find them eventually. After successfully dodging maids and servants whomall asked her to meet with the seamstress – she couldn't be bothered with that today – Lucy finally managed to have a moment to herself in the courtyard Gardens.

In fact, she found sanctuary in the very copse of trees she had met Natsubeneathall those years ago. Had it really been eight years? 

With her mind back on her wounded body guard, she finally allowed herself to think back again on the guilt that still nagged at her from the depths of her heart. He had come for her despite the fact that he had no idea of her whereabouts and knowing she was angry at him – so much as going so far as to sneak out with Levy instead – he had come for her.

Glancing to windows high above her, she narrowed her eyes while pinpointing the direct ones located nearest the ward. Perhaps, if she squinted hard enough, she could see what was happening up there. A small part of her hoped to see a shock of pink hair and an exuberantly bright smile beaming from above as her best friend waved down at her. Another part of her wasn't surprised when she saw nothing. Sighing, Lucy sagged in her seat.

"What am I thinking..." She questioned out loud, noticing a few stray birds in the branches – but they gave her no answer. "Givenhow I couldn't evenbotherto trust him, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want to see me..."

It was a pity party and a guilt trip, she knew this. It was rather pathetic of her, really, but what more could she do? Glancing up to the window again, Lucy supposed she could just check in on him again. Certainly the eccentric doctor wouldn't kick her out for that, would she? Somehow, she wasn't so sure...

Wait a minute... Lucy doubled back on her glance at the windows and finally noticed there was a difference. _Where_ _is the white cat? Ah-hah, then she really can move! Gotcha Wendy!_ Taking that as a sign, the Princess decided her pity party was far more useless that productive and she gathered up her skirts to dash back to the castle.

What left her gasping for air was the exertion of a short run up the staircase and through the halls to the sick ward. Her steps echoed on the stone floor and the door was cracked ajar. Instead of bursting through it, she skidded to a halt and listened, hoping to hear her fire mage talking animatedly with the small assistant.

Lucy was surprised when she did hear talking, but it wasn't Natsu and nor was it Wendy.

"Foolish boy, how long has it been since you've let yourself out into the woods?"

"Eh...'bout a week..." Responding to the older voice Lucy recognized as the Doctor's, was Natsu's pained one and her grip tightened on her skirts. A resounding smack echoed through the door and the boy suddenly yelped. "What was that for, granny?!"

"For being a moron! This is why I hate dealing with you and that Gajeel! Honestly,Wendy is the only smart one out of the three." She caught the sound of Natsu trying to yell in defense as Wendy's voice finally demurred in the background, but Porylusica's anger overshadowedthem. "Quiet! Be quiet! Of course you've been losing control of your fire if you haven't given yourself a break from suppressing it! If you don't do it soon then I'm having Carla send a message to that dragon right now to–"

"No– No! I'll go tonight, promise!" The squeak that came from him would have been adorable enough to make Lucy erupt into a grin if she wasn't so enthralled with the conversation. Did she say Dragon? She couldn't possibly mean a real one, could she?

As the conversation derailed to the old Doctor shouting at him about his idiocy once more, Lucy realized she was eavesdropping on something she clearly wasn't supposed to hear. Should she keep listening? But what if she was caught? Remembering Natsu's abnormally good hearing, Lucy decided it was best not to press her luck... At least,not yet.

Hesitantly, as her body guard and the doctor's voices began to rise, Lucy knocked on the door, sending it swinging slowly open. The shouting stopped abruptly and Lucy thought she heard a quick gasp of "Carla, quick!" before a dull thud hit one of the blankets. As she peeked around the door, she saw the Doctor, standing over with her own pink hair askew and a broom stick in hand that she brandished threateningly to the body guard below her. Natsu had frozen in place as if struggling to release himself from his tangled blankets, but his eyes locked on Lucy's position with a fierceness she had almost forgotten.

"Oh, L– Lucy, welcome back!" Wendy chirped, sitting atop a cot nearby as her hands lay atop the head of the supposedly stuffed cat that looked unceremoniously dropped onto the pillows. Supporting Lucy's suspicions, the once blank face of the "toy" looked oddly disgruntled.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Lucy asked, pretending she hadn't heard anything. "I just wanted to see if Natsu was okay..."

As if she hadn't been trying to reinjure her patient with a straw broom, Porylusica up righted herself and glared drolly to Lucy. "You're not interrupting anything of importance. Come in, I doubt I can chase you out before you've had a word with the moron here, but leave quickly when you're done." Turning to her back office, the woman motioned for Wendy to follow. Apologizing quietly, the small girl clutched the cat to her chest and rushed off after her teacher.

Everything was suddenly far too quiet as Lucy watched Natsu and Natsu watched Lucy. The blankets were still tangled aroundhis legs, but he had managed to wrestle them down passed his hips where her eyes followed briefly before darting up along his chest to see the bandages wrapped around him. She wondered if they had been replaced recently and how his back looked, but resisted the temptation to look herself.

Annoyed by the silence, the body guard finally sighed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uhh… Hey… Lucy... Are you–"

"I'm sorry!"

The outburst forced him to pause and his thoughts derailed. "Err… What?"

Covering her face with her hand, Lucy cursed under her breath and shook her head. "I didn't mean to blurt that out– I just..." She sighed and finally stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind her and securing it so it wouldn't creak open. "I realized you must have felt something was going to happen, that's why you didn't want me to go to Fairy Tail, right?"

Puzzled by her explanation, the guard nodded his head slowly and his eyes narrowed, seeing her hesitate. "Yes?"

Biting her lip, Lucy continued. "I should have trusted you... I mean... You... You're trained to know these things. To have sensesand to pay attention. I shouldn't have pushed you to get so angry and..."

"Lucy– Stop." Natsu finally released his legs from the hold of the blankets and swung them to floor. Staring at her with his unusually sharp eyes, he motioned for her to come closer and a small growl rumbled from his throat. "I shouldn't have treated you that way... You were just acting as you normally would."

"But I–"

"No Lucy." His face finally broke out into the smile that always put her at ease and Lucy finally realized that everything was going to be okay. "I kinda deserved it." It wasn't the same as him saying he wassorry as she did, but Lucy knew an apology when she heard one. Sitting across from him on the cot Wendy once frequented, she smiled at her guard and took his hand.

"Thank you for saving me." She finally said, wanting to let him know she appreciated him, above all else, even with the odd events that tookplace. She'd figure them out later, butfor now he was still Natsu and that was more important. He squeezed her hand, grinning, and Lucy was mildly amused to find a slight dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"Why do you have to be so sappy about everything?" He asked after a few seconds, scrunching up his nose as he took his hand away to hide his face.

"Shut up, Natsu!" Lucy snapped despite her smile, "Do you have to ruin the moment?"

"What moment?" She groaned at the puzzled look he gave her and shook her head.

"Never mind," She said with a shrug of her shoulders. They fell into easy silence after that. Herconsidering all the things she had heard that day and the relief she now felt and his... Thinking possibly about food. She never did understand what went through that boys mind, but she could always count on food being on the top of the list, despite this talk of "dragons" she heard. "Say Natsu– How did you find me?"

The pendant stayed hidden under her dress color, and she knew it wouldn't have to be brought up. Natsu would know it hadn't broken, especially with his half being intact still. She could clearly see his own attached to his shoes. She was expecting him to act suspicious again, to feed her information that would completely contradict what she heard today, maybe even see him struggle with coming up with something to say.

Instead, his large smile shrunk to a far more softer one as he said gently, "Didn't you hear me before, Luce? I told you that no matter where I go I'll always be able to find you." It was simple and so truthful that all thoughts and suspicions of the day flew out of her mind and Lucy found herself just accepting it. What else was she to do? She trusted him.


End file.
